THE ISSUE: Drunk driving

OUR OPINION: Holiday period poses extra risks of being arrested — or killed

The S.C. Department of Public Safety and law enforcement around the state stress the dangers of drunk driving, but it seems the tragedy never ends.

Just this past weekend in Columbia, 18-year-old Candice Davis of Holly Hill and Jerry Blanding, 20, of Greenville, lost their lives in a crash near Allen University, where they were attending school.

The accident is being blamed on a 27-year-old man who is facing felony driving-under-the-influence charges.

The deaths come at a particularly dangerous time on the state’s roads and highways. The period from Memorial Day to Labor Day, along with the Christmas-New Year’s holidays, is particularly deadly.

A year ago, there were 13 fatal collisions in which 15 people were killed during the Labor Day weekend. Officials are hoping the combination of safety checkpoints and tougher enforcement will curb the toll in 2009 — a number pushing perilously close to the pace of deaths a year ago.

More enforcement and increased use of safety belts have been cited as reasons the state’s traffic death toll dropped a year ago and has seen further declines in 2009. But the total reached 597 people by Aug. 30. That compares to 625 a year ago by the same time.

No question, seat belt usage remains a priority in preventing deaths and injuries. According to SCDPS, of the 453 motor vehicle occupants who have died in 2009, 265 were not wearing belts. There have been 24 fatal collisions where the use of safety belts is unknown.

With Orangeburg at 26 deaths for the year, the county has had seven more fatalities than a year ago at this time. There is particular need here for emphasis on belt usage, safe driving and putting a stop to DUI.

Consider some DUI statistics:

n One person is killed every half-hour due to drunk driving.

n Each year approximately 16,000 are killed in alcohol-related crashes.

n Alcohol is a factor in almost half of all traffic fatalities.

n Every other minute a person is seriously injured in an alcohol-related crash.

With AAA Carolinas predicting a 14 percent increase in travel over Labor Day from the Memorial Day holiday weekend that kicked off the summer driving period, more people on the road will mean increased danger.

SCDPS and other agencies are using media campaigns to convince people that driving impaired will result in jail time. The public service advertisements are quite effective. We fear, however, that they are most effective for people who will not be driving drunk. Those who do may not be dissuaded by anything short of jail — or death.

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