With site visitors deaths excessive, vacation journey worries Ga., S.C. officers

AUGUSTA, Georgia (WRDW / WAGT) – With Georgia and South Carolina seeing an increase in road deaths so far this year compared to 2019 and 2020, they are worried about motorists this July 4th weekend.

“Unfortunately, it looks like this could be one of the deadliest years on Georgia’s roads in a while,” said Robert Hydrick of the governor’s office for road safety as officials made stops across the state on Wednesday, including a stop at Davis Field in Augusta .

By about halfway through the year we are already on our way to one of the deadlier years in Georgia in recent history.

Around 850 people have been killed in traffic accidents in the state of Peach so far this year, around 21 percent more than in the same period last year. Law enforcement executives attribute this increase to drunk driving, speeding, and reckless and distracted driving.

Across the river in South Carolina, recent reports from the department show more collisions and deaths compared to 2020 and 2019. The department hopes an increased military and law enforcement presence will help prevent accidents and deaths over this holiday weekend.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety announced a partnership with the Department of Transportation that will enable patrol numbers, new patrol vehicles, and law enforcement technology to grow.

The period from Memorial Day to Labor Day is referred to by the department as the “100 Fatal Summer Days,” which is an increase in travel and fatal road accidents. On the weekend of July 4, 2020, the department reports 11 deaths in the state.

A new technology called SmartCop is being used in the vehicles of the South Carolina Highway Patrol across the state. The system provides officers with real-time data on collisions and provides precise information on when and where the accidents happened.

The department plans to continue using SmartCop over the long term to analyze where in the state there is more need for enforcement. Col. Christopher Williamson, commander of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, says this will enable the department to get the most out of its workforce.

“We’re using these statistics more effectively to direct our soldiers to those exact streets and the exact times so that we can take proactive enforcement measures to contain these deadly collisions,” said Williamson.

He says the increased number of officers this weekend and over the summer will enable better enforcement of traffic laws and action against dangerous driving practices such as speeding, distracted, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Soldiers in Peach State are cracking down on the same crimes.

Working with the police to get the message across about safe and sober driving is Mothers Against Trunk Driving.

“I’ve worked here with MADD for six years now and this year has been a terrible one. It seems like I get a new name on my desk every day and it’s tragic. Because like you said, it’s not just that one person. It’s their family, it’s their extended family, their friends, the first responders who have to deal with this accident, their families, ”said Theresa De Wild of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Like their counterparts on the road, Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources will keep a close eye on boaters this holiday weekend.

“Stay sober or name a driver or operator. That really doesn’t need any explanation. A drunk driver becomes a drunk boater and a drunk boater becomes a drunk driver, “said Col. Thomas Barnard of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Law Enforcement Division

According to Barnard, 75 people died in boat trips or drowning accidents on Georgia’s waterways last year. He added that we’re already at 40 deaths this year.

From reports by WRDW / WAGT, WTOC and WMBF