As more drivers are expected to be traveling South Carolina roads this Labor Day weekend, more state troopers will be patrolling the state's highways as well.
On the Grand Strand, the extra troopers will be concentrated on the area's busiest highways, said Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins.
"You'll see what we call saturation patrols, where you'll see troopers, multiple troopers working the same roadway, especially those busy roadways, U.S. 501, Highway 17, and then you'll also see public safety checkpoints throughout the weekend," Collins said.
Collins said troopers will be particularly concerned with stopping drunk or distracted drivers.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety says the number of fatalities in the state has risen going into the final days of what the agency calls the 100 Deadly Days of Summer. There have been 533 deaths from Memorial Day weekend to the start of the Labor Day weekend this year, compared to 526 during the same period last year, according to a SCDPS press release.
Many drivers told NewsChannel 15 they're in favor of a crackdown on DUI's and distracted drivers.
"They need to do whatever they can to put the harshest laws out there against these drunk drivers, for the safety of everyone else," said Jimmy Daniel of Myrtle Beach.
"I think they should get rid of people using their cell phone in their hands all the time. That's the main thing for everybody, they shouldn't have a cell phone driving," added Tom Bouie of Conway.
The Department of Public Safety says the overall traffic death rate in the state has trended downward, but the rate of drunk driving-related deaths has not gone down as sharply.
Collins said the public can help reduce the number of drunk drivers on the road by calling the agency's hotline at *HP if they see a driver who may be drunk behind the wheel.
"This year, we're on tap to arrest more DUI's here in our area than we did last year," Collins said. "While that's a good thing that we're getting them off the road, it's a bad thing that we've still got that many people out there trying to drive after consuming alcohol."
State troopers and state Transport Police will be holding public safety checkpoints throughout the state over the Labor Day weekend. The DPS says motorists should make sure they have their driver license, insurance card and registration in their vehicles and ready to present to an officer if they are stopped.
