Interstate 85: Traffic Accidents Caused by Speed and Distraction
I was surprised with the amount of fatalities we were having on Interstate 85 back in July of this year and wrote, "Wrecking' Havoc on Interstate 85 in Upstate South Carolina". There were too many fatalities occurring in such a short period of time on the same stretch of interstate that runs from the Georgia/South Carolina border to the Greenville/Anderson County line.
Local journalist, Rick Spruill of the Anderson Independent, took this research on I-85 to a new level in his article entitled, "Pressure Cruise: Traffic Increase on I-85 in Anderson County". Some interesting points to consider are:
- An average of 46,277 vehicles travel daily through Anderson County along the interstate between S.C. 24 near the Georgia state line and S.C. 153 near the Greenville County line;
- Overall, I-85 sees more fatalities over a much shorter distance than other interstate corridors running through South Carolina such as Interstate 95 or Interstate 20;
- According to the most recent data available from the South Carolina Department of Transportation, in 2007, I-85’s 107 miles of interstate were the site of 354 traffic fatalities in South Carolina;
- According to TRIP (The Road Information Program) vehicle traffic in South Carolina is expected to increase by almost 50 percent by 2025, after jumping 45 percent between 1990 and 2007;
- In 2008, the financial cost of all collisions that happened on I-85 in Anderson County totaled more than $22 million;
In the article, Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said,
“Unfortunately, we have more distractions than ever with cell phones, GPS units and PDAs with e-mail access. ... Anything that takes you away from the task at hand should be kept to a minimum. It only takes an instant of distraction to create a lifetime of regret.”
