BAMBERG -- Bamberg County resident Thurman Nichols doesn't see a need for speed, particularly when it comes to truck travel through his quiet, country community.

Nichols, who lives at 3643 Charleston-Augusta Road, says he has issued "a plea for help" to stop coal trucks from Holly Hill-based Dorchester Dirt Co. Inc. from speeding through his neighborhood.

The complaints have not gone unheard. The Bamberg County Sheriff's Department has placed police radar units in the area, and the state Department of Transportation is planning to make the intersection of Charleston-Augusta Road and Faust Street a four-way stop to ensure safety.

"We really have a problem down here with those coal trucks. It's really a hazard," Nichols said, noting that he and his wife walk up and down the road for exercise but became leery about their safety because of speeding trucks.

"Neighbors are afraid to get out. If we could get the speed limit lowered, maybe we could discourage them from coming through here. It's about two or three other routes they can take. It's dangerous to walk even on the shoulder of the road," Nichols said.

He said he'd like to see the speed limit lowered from 45 to 35 mph.

Nichols said the coal trucks are coming up from the Canadys area through Bamberg to transport coal to South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.'s Cope Generating Station. To avoid the ongoing road construction at U.S. 78 and 321, where the coal trucks would normally turn, drivers have instead been turning off of U.S. 78 at Midway, Nichols said.

He said the short cut through his neighborhood is taken to reach the road's intersection with U.S. 301, where the trucks then travel on to the Cope plant.

"This road is a little, narrow road. It was not a commercial road but a farm-to-market road. Due to traffic downtown, I think they're bypassing it and coming by my road," Nichols said. "The coal trucks are coming by here every two minutes. The speed limit here is 45 mph. Well, I got behind one of the trucks one day, and it was going 60 (mph)."

"When they're fully loaded, the trucks weigh 63,000 pounds, and you can't stop one at 200 feet even going 45 mph," he said. "Can you imagine stopping something like that in the case of an emergency?"

Retired Bamberg physician Dr. Michael Watson said he and his wife have also noted the speed of the trucks.

"When we moved out here ... this was a dirt road. We had no traffic at all. The road is paved now, but that's all right. That's progress. But my problem is the way the trucks come by here. One time I counted 21 that came by my house. My wife says they go too fast, and most of them do," Watson said.

He said while he understands that it's "practically impossible" for the trucks to turn at the downtown intersection of U.S. 78 and 321, he doesn't understand why they have to go so fast and don't come to a complete stop at stop signs.

"I believe they would appreciate that road being fixed. It would take them hours to get through, but they can go slower and come to a full stop. If you take one of those big, old trucks fully loaded, they just can't stop on a dime. It takes them 100 to 200 yards to stop," Watson said. "I think they've had several wrecks where the road intersects with Faust Street. I think one person was killed."

Annette Bevill is the human resources manager at Dorchester Dirt Company Inc. She said the fatal accident, which involved a company truck, occurred a year ago and has since been settled.

"It had nothing to do with speed, absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact, my driver was pulling out of an intersection when the car hit him from a stop sign. He was at a dead stop and pulled out of the intersection. The car hit him. It has been settled," Bevill said.

She said the company has addressed the speeding concerns.

"We address it with our drivers, and have safety meetings. We received one phone call, and it was addressed immediately. We are strict on our drivers about their speed and their safety on the road," Bevill said.

Bevill said the company's drivers are well-trained on safety procedures before they leave on routes, including making sure their loads are secure and covered with tarps and that their trucks are not overweight. She said the long-distance trucking company has drivers hauling "different materials" all over the state, Georgia and North Carolina.

First Lt. George Folk of the Bamberg County Sheriff's Department said police radar units were first placed in Nichols' community in February. He said a call was made to the Holly Hill company regarding their trucks speeding.

"We called the company, spoke with a gentleman and assured him that if they didn't slow them down, we would. He assured me that he would take care of the issue," Folk said.

"We've got a radar unit out there, and doing everything that we can. I called Mr. Nichols and told him what I had done. That's really all we can do. We haven't heard any more complaints since we did that," he said.

Ems Baskin, district traffic engineer with the state Department of Transportation, said the option of lowering the speed limit is still viable. He said a traffic study will be done to examine its feasibility.

"We've gotten a request from some of the residents, and I think maybe even the mayor. I'm going to be looking at that, ... and we're going to do it just as soon as we can. We do have a number of requests that are ahead of this one," Baskin said.

He said a previous traffic study at Charleston-Augusta Road's intersection with Faust Street, however, will resulted in the placement of a four-way stop at the site of the deadly accident from a year ago.

"That's being implemented as soon as we can get the necessary equipment ordered and installed. We're doing that as quickly as we can, ... and that should go a long way to improve safety on that section of road. We had done that at the request of some citizens as well," Baskin said.

A similar four-way stop was placed for safety purposes at the intersection of Norway Road (S.C. 400) and Shillings Bridge Road (secondary 74) in 2005.

Baskin said truck drivers and law enforcement officers must continue to be vigilant in making sure the traffic laws are adhered to and implemented.

"Truck drivers have got to take responsibility for being safe and, of course, law enforcement needs to do their part as well. We work closely with law enforcement," Baskin said. "The current speed has got to be enforced. We want to look at it to see if it's as safe as it could be, and that's what we'll be doing."

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

You must be logged in to comment.