Crash Entraps One on Dick Pond Road in Horry County, South Carolina (SC)

HORRY COUNTY, SC- Wpde.com writes that a crash occurred this week in Horry County that left one person trapped inside of their car. The incident involved two vehicles and occurred on Dick Pond Road at its intersection with Highway 17 Bypass.*

Responders rescued the victim and transported the individual to the hospital. The incident led to traffic delays in the area. 

South Carolina has a poor record when it comes to fatal car crashes. The state ranks third in that nation in terms of per capita traffic deaths. One of the likely causes, according to researchers, is Palmetto State’s lax approach to distracted drivers. South Carolina issues few tickets for distracted driving-related violations, and when people are ticketed, the fine is a minimum of just $25. 

One issue that is making it difficult to enforce that state’s distracted driving law is that while texting is illegal, South Carolina still permits the use of hand-held electronics for other purposes. As a result, it becomes challenging for officers to prove that a person was using their phone for a prohibited purpose rather than one that is allowed. 

The law may change in the near future as legislators have presented a bill to ban the use of hand-held electronics while driving. 

Unfortunately, distracted driving is not the only issue making South Carolina’s roads dangerous. A recent study indicated that the state also tops the list in drunk driving deaths. Data placed South Carolina as the number two state for drunk driving-related fatalities with a rate of 6.22 deaths for every 100,000 residents. The only state with a worse record for fatal alcohol-related collisions is Wyoming. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or a family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:

https://wpde.com/news/local/1-person-extricated-after-2-vehicle-accident-in-horry-county

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-carolina/articles/2020-01-29/ban-on-holding-cellphones-while-driving-likely-dead-in-sc

https://www.wistv.com/story/38030136/sc-ranked-no-3-deadliest-state-for-fatal-car-crashes-study-says/