Two-Vehicle Collision Blocks Traffic on Highway 544 in Horry County, South Carolina (SC)

HORRY COUNTY, SC- Wmbfnews.com writes that two people sustained injuries in a crash this week on Highway 544 in Horry County, South Carolina. Two vehicles were involved in the collision that took place in the early evening. Drivers traveling through the area were instructed to expect delays.*

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of car crash-related fatalities declined slightly in 2019. Data indicates that traffic-related deaths declined by 1.2 percent last year. Drops in fatalities among car occupants, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists were all reported by the Administration. 

The only category of a collision that experienced an uptick in fatal crashes were those involving large trucks. Large truck collision-related fatalities went up one percent last year based on early estimates. Although overall fatalities caused by traffic crashes declined, fatal crashes in the southeast rose by two percent. 

The states included in the region designated the southeast according to the NHTSA includes South Carolina, along with Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. It is not yet clear why crashes increased in these states even as they declined nationally. It is also not readily apparent why large truck crashes continued to kill more people each year, even as fatalities are on the decline. South Carolina has a number of traffic safety challenges. Among those is the fact that the state has less stringent distracted driving laws the many other parts of the country. 

Another issue impacting road safety in the Palmetto state is that South Carolina has a higher than an average number of drunk drivers and drunk driving-related collisions. South Carolina is among the ten worst states when it comes to alcohol-impaired drivers. North Carolina also falls into the ten states with the most drunk drivers. Clearly, officials in South Carolina have a great deal of work to do in order to improve local road safety. 

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://www.wmbfnews.com/2020/10/14/traffic-alert-two-vehicle-crash-blocks-highway-hurt/

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/fatalities-crashes-involving-trucks-increased-2019-nhtsa-estimates

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

https://www.wmbfnews.com/2019/11/20/carolinas-fall-into-top-list-worst-states-drunk-driving/