BY BILLY LOPES, Freshman
BLYTHEWOOD-Throughout the past three years, the highways in South Carolina have been full of disasters.
The SC Highway Patrol have issued their yearly toll of deaths due to wrecks on SC highways. The current count is 625 deaths.
Lisa Grazioli, employed by the RCSD, said that “the highways would be safer and feel safer if there were interstate light poles.”
This argument has been going on for years now, that the citizens think these light poles are “highly needed”.
“The little reflector things don’t do anything,” Grazioli added.
“I drive kids to and from school, and there are instances where I see people drive off the road,” Blythewood Senior Joey Lopes stated. “Technology takes a big role in many of these accidents.”
Unlike many states, South Carolina has a law that allows you to be able to talk on your phone without breaking a law, but texting is not acceptable. Making and receiving phone calls is a risk, a risk that most people think is worth taking.
“I babysit on most weekends and the parents of the children have a rule that my phone stays in the middle console when I have them in the car. They want both me and the kids safe at all times," senior Amelia Reynolds said.
Although the death toll is not as bad as many other states, being 14th in the country (CNN 2014), it is high enough to make the SC community somewhat uncomfortable. There are more than a million people who drive on the roads daily and all of them are at risk of injury due to crash, even if it does not have to do with technology because you never know who else is using it.
“I’m a new driver and the death toll both saddens and scares me.I wish people did not have to suffer because of their choice and other people's choices to use technology while behind the wheel,”sophomore Caroline Reynolds said.
People in SC and in many other parts of the country must take precaution when it comes to using your technology while operating a vehicle. The death toll in SC is not as high as other states, but it is too high to accept.
“The laws are put in place for a reason.You are putting yourself and others in a huge safety danger,”said Deputy Grazioli
