Coronavirus + cheap gas + July 4: Roads to be packed, anti-DUI push by SC police
South Carolina law enforcement agencies are expecting packed roads this weekend for the July 4 holiday, so officers will be out in force to crack down on impaired drivers and seat bealt violators.
Traffic numbers are expected to be especially high because the threat of coronavirus has people planning more car trips, and gas prices are far cheaper than 2019, law enforcement and travel officials said.
“Troopers will be out in full force through Sunday,” said Master Trooper Gary Miller of the S.C. Highway Patrol. “Drivers will see packed roadways, so we will be out there enforcing safety laws We will be all over the Interstates, so people in York and Chester counties will see us on I-77 all weekend.”
Miller said there is a special push during holidays to keep drunk drivers off the road. With ride-sharing options, Miller said there is no reason for anyone to drive while impaired.
“There is no reason at all, especially during such a busy period of highway travel, for anyone to get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol,” Miller said.
A recent study by Safewise shows that South Carolina has had the third-most drunk driving incidents in America in past years.
In 2019, 13 people died on South Carolina highways over the July 4 travel period that includes the day before the holiday through the day after, according to S.C. Department of Public Safety statistics.
The July 4 holiday falls on a Saturday, so roads will be even more busy, Miller said.
“Even with coronavirus going on, we expect day trips to be very high because the holiday is on the weekend and most people are off,” Miller said. “And with Covid-19 a concern, far more people are taking shorter trips inside the state of South Carolina.”
Miller said seat belt use is also crucial. Of five fatal crashes in Chester County in the past two weeks, three of the fatalities involved people who were not wearing seat belts, Miller said.
“Our goal is 100 percent of all people in every vehicle wear their belts,” Miller said.
Local police agencies also are planning to have officers patrolling roads over the holiday. Sheriff’s deputies in York, Chester and Lancaster counties are asking the public to avoid distracted driving and to not drive while impaired with holiday traffic expected to be at near-record levels.
“Alcohol and drugs never mix with driving or boat safety,” said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff officials will be patrolling Lake Wylie over the July 4 weekend, Faris said. The lake is also patrolled by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources on the South Carolina side of the lake.
Busy lake, nice weather
Officials expect the lake to be busy for boating traffic through the holiday weekend, Faris said.
It’ll be typical Independence Day weather for the Rock Hill area. Yes, that means hot.
National Weather Service meteorologist Pat Moore spent part of his daily technical discussion Thursday describing several possible weather patterns, but summarized it with, “Bottom line … it boils down to something that looks like regular old summer.”
Forecasters say a northerly flow in the atmosphere will eliminate showers and thunderstorms from the forecast Thursday and Friday and limit precipitation chances to just 20 percent on the Fourth of July.
Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to climb. Highs in the low 90s are expected Thursday and Friday, then climb into the mid 90s for the Independence Day holiday.
Humidity levels could push the heat index -- the “real feel” of temperature and humidity -- into the upper 90s this weekend.
The Weather Service’s Jeffrey Taylor says the pattern probably will begin to change by Sunday, with daily shower and thunderstorm chances increasing. That wetter pattern is forecast to continue into next week. Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Gas prices
Gasoline prices are far lower than the same weekend in 2019.
AAA Carolinas reports that South Carolina gas prices are around 44 cents cheaper than the same time in 2019. Gas prices have gone up in South Carolina around 25 cents in the past month, but still are below $2 a gallon with a $1.93 average in South Carolina, AAA spokesperson Tiffany Wright said.
Gas prices are lower than the state average in York, Chester and Lancaster counties, statistics show. Gasoline was as inexpensive as $1.72 in Rock Hill this week, according to gasbuddy.com.
Although Covid-19 has hurt the travel industry, car trips are the least affected, Wright said. Cruise and other travel is down by as much as 85 percent, but car travel is down by only about 3 percent, according to AAA statistics.
Myrtle Beach ranks number seven on the AAA top ten list for road travel destinations in 2020 in the United States, AAA said.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 8:12 AM.
