It's time for South Carolinians to demand better roads and a new way to pay for them. That's according to a Myrtle Beach man who is next in line to be chairman of the State Department of Transportation.

South Carolina's gas tax has been unchanged at 16 cents a gallon since the late 1980's, while the price of gas has doubled in that time.

It's hard to convince some people that gas taxes are too low. But Danny Isaac, elected last week to be vice chair of the DOT Commission, says the state's gas tax revenue is far short of keeping up with the rest of the country. "We're about 55% of where we need to be."

Isaac says, as the price of gas goes up, people drive less, so the state takes in less tax revenue. Instead of being figured per gallon, Isaac says the gas tax should be on a percentage basis, like in North Carolina, which he says has much better roads. "If we change the formula today and the economy turns around, it could benefit the DOT. If we leave the formula like it is and the economy improves, it doesn't help anybody."

Drivers we talked to don't like higher taxes, but say South Carolina needs better roads. "They really do need fixed, because it affects the wear and tear on your automobile," says driver Joey Key. Derrick Johnson agreed, "There's potholes everywhere, and you can tell the difference between states, between North Carolina and South Carolina."

Isaac says he doesn't see any kind tax increase getting through the General Assembly this year. But he says it's practically impossible for the state to build new highways and even maintaining them is hard to afford. "The difficulty is, until the general public demands improvement in their road system and are willing to pay for it. We're kind of hamstrung and handcuffed to work with what we have."

Isaac says industries look for interstate highways and in places like Marion County, with 22% unemployment and no interstate connection, it's nearly impossible to recruit new companies.

South Carolina has the nation's fourth-lowest gas tax rate.

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