South Carolina Highway Patrol launches a new ACE initiative that targets high-crash areas with increased trooper presence.
By Zachary Bell
Managing Editor
News
This past weekend, state and local law enforcement partnered together to combat the growing trend in traffic fatalities in York County. News of this partnership comes after state agencies reported that York County traffic fatalities had risen significantly from where they were at this time last year.
Captain Anthony Darby, an officer with South Carolina Highway Patrol and Commander of Troop 4, which oversees traffic enforcement in York County, hosted a Sept. 16 press conference to discuss these traffic fatalities while encouraging safer driving.
“This morning, South Carolina had 625 fatalities on our roadways. That is 101 fatalities less than what we did this time last year,” Darby said. “But the sad part is that in York County, we have had an increase of seven fatalities compared to this time last year.”
Concerned by these numbers, Darby announced an Enhanced ACE Initiative that will identify high-crash roads and target violations that are causing crashes. Darby was joined by York County Sheriff Tony Breeden, other local officers, and members of the SCHP Motors Unit.
ACE, or Area Coordinated Enforcement, would involve a significant trooper presence at key traffic corridors that have been identified as higher-risk areas. This initiative started on Sept. 23 and lasted through Sept. 25.
Master Trooper Hannah Davidson, the Community Relations Officer for Troop 4 that covers the Rock Hill area, said that these high-crash corridors include US21, SC72, Interstate 77 and Porter Road. These corridors were identified with the aid of empirical data and analytics.
For the duration of those three days, SCHP utilized proactive enforcement methods to encourage safe driving. SCHP pulled resources from across the state to support this initiative, including 3 officers with the York County Sheriff’s Department.
According to Trent Faris, Public Information Officer for the York County Sheriff’s Department, there are no plans at this time to extend or repeat the ACE initiative. However, Faris reaffirmed the Sheriff’s commitment to road safety and said that further steps will be taken should the department find them necessary.
No definitive explanation for York County’s traffic fatalities was provided by law enforcement. Davidson attributed the growing number of crashes to Rock Hill’s growth. “With more people moving to the area, you will always have an increase in collisions.”
Part of this targeted traffic rollout also identified the violations most commonly associated with traffic fatalities. These include speeding, driving under the influence, seatbelt violations and pedestrians illegally in the roadway.
It will take some time before the authorities collect and publish data to determine the effectiveness of last week’s ACE initiative.
“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to change that and reduce that number by the end of the year,” Darby said.
Breeden said that traffic and road violations are some of the most common complaints in York County.
“We are really fortunate to have a multi-jurisdictional traffic entity,” Breeden said during the press conference. “We’re looking forward to doing what we can to help them and enhance what they’re doing.”
At the press conference, Darby made some remarks on SCHP’s ongoing “Keep Us Safe” Operation, which seeks to aggressively enforce South Carolina’s new Move-Over law. In the month of September, three highway patrol officers have been struck while performing traffic stops, one of which was fatal.
“If you see any emergency vehicle on the side of the road with their lights on, the law requires you to drastically reduce your speed and move over to another lane if you’re able,” Darby said.
On Sept. 1, South Carolina’s Hands-Free law also entered its warning phase. This law makes it a crime for drivers to touch their phones while their vehicle is in motion. Officers will hand out warnings until next February, when they will begin ticketing for violations.
That is the best joke that I’ve heard all day. You never see a cop in these high traffic areas, even during rush hour.