Is drunk driving still a big problem in South Carolina?

If you are one of the residents in South Carolina who is concerned about the ongoing risk of being involved in an accident caused by a drunk driver, you unfortunately have good reason for your worries. Even as laws have changed and the penalties for a driving under the influence offense have gotten stronger, people continue to get behind the wheels of cars when they should not. Too many innocent people end up experiencing serious injuries or the loss of loved ones due to these decisions.

According to records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk drivers were responsible for 32% of the state’s total vehicular fatalities in 2017. Between 2013 and 2017, the number of people who died in drunk driving accidents in South Carolina each year ranged from a low of 313 to a high of 341.

Over that same five-year span, Berkeley County recorded 172 traffic fatalities. A total of 60 of those deaths were attributed to alcohol. That means that 35% of all people killed in automobile accidents lost their lives at the hands of drunk drivers. Among Berkeley County’s immediate neighbors, only Charleston County experienced more drunk driving deaths over those five years, with a total of 97 fatalities attributed to drunk drivers in the five years.

This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to let residents in South Carolina understand the scope of the problem that continues to plague the state due to the drivers who refuse to stop drinking after they have consumed too much alcohol.