Two Injured in Crash on Highway 501 in Horry County, South Carolina (SC)

HORRY COUNTY, SC- Wmbfnews.com writes that traffic was delayed in the evening this week on Highway 501 close to Factory Stores Boulevard. Two of the victims were reportedly trapped in the crash but were extracted by responders. The injured individuals were transported to the hospital.*

Police are now investigating the incident. 

South Carolina's roads are comparatively dangerous. For instance, one study stated that the Palmetto State is the second-worst in the nation in terms of drunk driving accidents. With a fatality rate of 6.22 deaths for every 100,000 residents, South Carolina has a worse rate than all but Wyoming. Wyoming had the most drunk driving deaths in the country, with 7.59 fatalities for 100,000 residents. 

The state with the fewest per capita drunk driving deaths was New Jersey, where only 1.39 fatality per capita. 

Not only does South Carolina perform poorly in terms of drunk driving deaths, but the state has a poor record for distracted driving as well. 

South Carolina rarely tickets motorists for distracted driving-related offenses. In fact, in 2016, officers only ticketed 53 drivers for violations of distracted driving laws. Even drivers who were cited likely faced minimal fines as the tickets can instill a penalty as low as $25. 

The reason that so few tickets are issued is likely related to the fact that the state has no hand-held electronics ban in place. Instead, police must show that a distracted driver was using a phone to text, which is prohibited, rather than for some permitted reason. This makes it much more difficult to hold drivers accountable. As a result of these issues, and possibly others is that the state has one of the worst traffic fatality rates in the nation. 

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.

Source:

https://www.wmbfnews.com/2020/07/31/hcfr-two-hurt-three-vehicle-crash-along-highway/

https://abcnews4.com/news/local/new-study-south-carolina-ranked-second-for-highest-rate-of-drunk-driving-in-the-nation

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