Berkeley Co. Sheriff addressing influx of traffic issues

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD) – Crowded roadways have led to an expansion of the traffic enforcement team at the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office.

“There’s so much cluster, there’s so much jobs and everything opening. Everybody is in a rush to get somewhere and sadly to say, a lot of people not paying attention to where they’re going,” said Kenneth King, who lives in Goose Creek.

Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said traffic has become the number one issue the agency receives complaints about. He said this has happened because of the population boom over the last few years.

“We get calls quite regularly about road rage incidents, aggressive driving, people speeding in neighborhoods and that kind of thing,” Sheriff Lewis told News 2.

Traffic frustrations have become part of drivers’ everyday norm.

“The traffic’s a headache every morning. You know, between Google Maps and this map saying it’s going to be the best route, it’s always congested,” said Goose Creek resident, Joshua Hope.

The sheriff said they’ve added more deputies to their traffic enforcement team. Four new motorcycles on the way will be dedicated to handling issues on the road as well. These efforts are in addition to the many operations already performed in areas with a lot of complaints, or even fatalities.

While deputies work to keep the road safe, the sheriff is asking people behind the wheel to be cautious as well.

“I just ask people to be mindful and be safe but understand when we get complaints in areas we will enforce the traffic laws in those areas,” Sheriff Lewis said.

Sheriff Lewis said illegal narcotics were the top issue he received complaints about when he first took office in 2015, but now those types of complaints rarely come in.