Lowcountry sheriff urges driver safety as holiday travel peaks in South Carolina

JASPER COUNTY, SC. (WTOC) - Tuesday marks one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season.

Millions of people are traveling by air, but about 73 million people are deciding to drive this year.

WTOC visited the South Carolina Welcome Center to speak with a Lowcountry sheriff about what they normally see during the holiday season and his message to drivers.

Holiday travel in SC

Jasper County Sheriff Chris Malphrus told us that Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day are the two holidays, where they see the most drivers on the roads. With the increase in traffic Malphrus says they are adding more deputies on the roads, but also hope drivers can play their part.

Normally, for the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office they see the increase of drivers and congestion on the major roadways like Interstate 95, US-278, and 17.

Whether it be an increase in cars, construction, or not catching a green light on time it all adds to the traffic on the roads. Even with the uptick in traffic, there have been fewer deadly crashes across the state compared to previous years.

Fatal crashes decrease statewide

According to South Carolina Highway Patrol, there have been 784 fatal crashes this year. Compared to over 930 at this same time in 2022 and 2023.

Sheriff Malphrus says that he is proud to see number as low as it is, but says for it to stay that low people will have to do their jobs as drivers, even when a Sheriff’s deputy may not be nearby.

“We ask for everybody to do their part because law enforcement can’t be everywhere all the time. So, if our drivers on our roadways drive responsibly like I said leave early, pay attention, stay off the phone, and just be courteous and patient that goes a long way,” said Sheriff Malphrus.

According to AAA, this year is expected to be record breaking in the number of travelers on the road and if you are looking to avoid the traffic, they say the earlier you leave the better.

You can soon be ticked for breaking the Hands-free Law

The Hands-free Law has been in effect across the state for nearly three months and officers will soon be able to ticket people for breaking the law.

The hands-free law was put into place across the state as a way to limit the number of crashes and deaths seen on the roads.

Drivers are not allowed to have their phone in their hand or on them while driving, which is a habit many are still trying to break.

In the Lowcountry, several agencies gathered to take part in “Operation Safe Drive 278” where they enforced this new law and the move over law in September on one of the areas busiest roads in U.S.-278.

Since then, Sheriff Chris Malphrus says people having phones in their hands while driving is still a serious problem they are seeing across Jasper County.

Right now, law enforcement is just issuing warnings for people who break that law, but in March tickets and citations will start getting issued.

“People, there attention is divided and it’s not solely on the road. I tell people to put the phone down, if you have to make a phone call or receive one do it hands-free. Keep both hands on the steering wheel, keep focused on the roadway and surroundings, and just get to where you are going safely,” said Sheriff Malphrus.

The first offense will be a $100 fine. Anything after that within a three-year timespan will result in a $200 fine and two points added to your driving record.

WTOC speaks to Thanksgiving traveler

We spoke with one traveler who made sure to leave bright and early Tuesday morning to avoid the traffic.

At 5:05 a.m. Tuesday morning, Corrye Hatchell left with her husband from their home near Sarasota, Florida.

They stopped in South Carolina for a breather before finishing their trip to North Carolina.

On the roads, she says there were spots on the highway where they ran into some traffic.

Overall, she says the drive up the coast has been pretty good and the traffic has been spread out.

She says they left Tuesday to make sure that they made it to their destination in time and left super early because they knew it was going to be busy throughout the week.

She hopes the remainder of their trip is just as smooth as the first half.

“We’re hoping that it will be this good if not better. We’ve seen no accidents, we’ve seen a few people pulled over by the police, but for the most part not a lot. It also seems like people are being courteous on the roads,” Corrye Hatchell, Florida resident.

According to AAA if you are looking to avoid the traffic and chaos on the road, they say the earlier you leave the better.

So maybe before leaving take some notes from Hatchell.