Transportation chief praises DUI law

Brad Nettles
The Post and Courier

Charleston Police Lt. F.M. Searson (center left) explains to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters how Officer Octavio Fabisiewicz (left) assesses a possible drunken driver, played by Steve Thomas, during a simulated DUI stop on Thursday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters called South Carolina's DUI law passed this spring "one of the strictest in the country" during a visit to Charleston on Thursday.

But with the second-worst rate of alcohol-related crashes in the country, Peters said, the Palmetto State has a long road ahead. She spoke at Charleston's Brittlebank Park alongside city and state officials to drive home a safety message ahead of the long holiday weekend.

"It will help you move out of the No. 2 spot," she said of the law. "Nearly one half of the (traffic) deaths in South Carolina are alcohol-related."

In 2006, 13,000 people died in alcohol-related crashes nationwide, 39 percent of the total, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In South Carolina that year, 420 of the state's more than 1,000 crashes involved alcohol.

The drunken driving law that Gov. Mark Sanford signed in April eliminates defense loopholes, according a release from the Governor's Office. The law strengthens penalties and removes community service as a sentencing option for second and subsequent offenses. It also introduces a tiered penalty system for offenders who are highly intoxicated.

Peters said she chose to deliver her speech in Charleston because of the city's success in traffic enforcement. City officers made a nearly fourfold increase in drunken driving arrests in 2007 compared to the year before: 489 versus 126.

Police Chief Greg Mullen said traffic patrols and checkpoints have been part of a "holistic" approach to policing. The goal is to make "total traffic stops" that not only help get drunks off the road, the chief said, but take drugs and guns off the streets as well.

The city has seen a slight dent in traffic fatalities in 2008, with four as of Thursday compared to five at the same time last year. Things have not gone as well in other parts of the Lowcountry.

Highway Patrol figures from earlier this week show fatalities up by 9 in Berkeley County from this time last year, 25 compared to 16. Traffic deaths were up three in Charleston County, 32 compared to 29 last year.

Troopers plan to pay close attention to Berkeley County roads around Lake Moultrie this holiday, as well as U.S. Highway 17 near Charleston.

"We're going to have checkpoints set up from July 3 through Monday, July 7," said Lance Cpl. Bob Beres, a Highway Patrol spokesman. "You can expect them anywhere in Berkeley County."

Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@post andcourier.com.