The South Carolina Highway Patrol held a press conference Wednesday morning to address a nearly thirteen percent increase in pedestrian fatalities in the state from this time last year.
In order to reverse this trend of increasing pedestrian fatalities, South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway offered advice for pedestrians walking alongside or crossing South Carolina roads.
“As a pedestrian, if you pay attention, you’re cautious, you’re not distracted, you’re not impaired, and you’re using the sidewalk when it’s available, or if the sidewalk is not available and you’re walking in accordance to the law and you’re walking facing traffic, paying attention, you’ve got like a 99 percent chance of not being struck by a vehicle,” Ridgeway said. “If you do these things, and you educate your children on things like this, we can almost guarantee you’re not going to be struck by a vehicle.”
Ridgeway explained that very few if any of these fatalities are happening in well-lit areas or in crosswalks, such as in downtown Greenville, but instead often in poorly lit areas without sidewalks.
