Bills to improve S.C. road safety move closer to governor’s desk
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Legislation that could soon reach the governor’s desk aims to make South Carolina’s roads safer for everyone.
Senators took up two bills Wednesday that could both impact drivers, but in very different ways.
One of the bills would establish a hands-free driving law in South Carolina, a measure that around 30 other states already have in place.
“This bill has ed the Senate twice before, and it’s got caught up, back and forth, at the end of session a couple times,” Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, said.
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The bill would prohibit drivers from holding or ing a cellphone while they are driving, so they would not be able to hold it to their ears, type or scroll, or even have it on their laps.
It would also apply to other electronic devices, like gaming devices, and would prohibit drivers from watching videos or video calls.
Hands-free calls and voice-to-text would still be allowed.
“We’ve received a letter from the federal government that, if we do not this version of the bill, then we risk losing $54 million in highway funds, effective July 1, 2025. So I can give you 54 million reasons why this bill is a really good idea,” Hembree said.
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If enacted as currently written, the measure would go into effect Sept. 1, with the first 180 days serving as a warning period before any drivers receive tickets.
The second bill senators took up would toughen the penalties for drivers who don’t stop for law enforcement signaling for them to do so.
“We have several incidents that are occurring throughout the state where suspects are running from law enforcement, and they’re getting a slap on the hand, and then they do it again and again and again. And it’s a shame because what they’re doing is putting innocent people’s lives at risk,” Sen. Brian Adams, R-Berkeley, said.
Drivers who fail to stop for blue lights would face a misdemeanor for a first offense, with up to three years in prison; a felony for offenses after that, facing up to 10 years behind bars; and a felony, with one to five years in prison, for a first offense in which they led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit.
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Initially, senators proposed making all first offenses felonies.
But Democrats argued that it could unfairly penalize drivers who might take a while longer to pull over because they are looking for a safe place to do so, so the bill was amended.
“If you’re an 18-year-old and a blue light comes on and you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong, shouldn’t you have the opportunity to drive six blocks to the mall or the gas station where the camera is?” Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said.
Both bills are expected to face final votes for age in the Senate on Thursday and would then head back to the House of Representatives, which ed them earlier this year.
House could either accept senators’ changes and send these bills straight to the governor’s desk, or they could try to work out a compromise in the next week before the legislative session wraps up May 8.
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