On the road with the Greenville police department's special enforcement unit, stopping speeders is Corporal Travis Pearson's main mission. Normally posted along Interstate 385, it doesn't take him long to find a few. His highest: a local teen going 105 mph. That's 50 miles over the 55 mph posted limit. Pearson says, "I tried to explain to the kid what would happen at a collision at that speed. I actually called his mom and dad to the scene also. It wasn't pretty when dad got there."
As fast as it may seem now, Rep. Todd Rutherford of Richland County is proposing an increase to 80 mph on SC highways. The idea has some hitting the brakes. Driver Andrea Shumate says, "That's pretty high. Too high, I think." "I just feel there's enough accidents as it is," adds driver Chris Bagley. "That would be a little more dangerous than it already is." Others say it's about responsibility on the road, and knowing when to slow down. "If they're getting tickets for going 75-80 already, you might as well let them go ahead and go that fast," says driver Candace Street.
For Pearson, who's seen too many tragedies, it's a hard sell. "The impact with another car or a brick wall at that speed, the results are almost always going to be fatal." He says the price of going too fast is much more than a piece of paper. It could cost a life.
House Bill 4185 has been pre-filed. It is currently in committee.
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