The Hartsville Police Department participated in the Sober or Slammer Campaign from 08/21/2020 to 09/07/2020. During this campaign, officers increased enforcement efforts including aggressive patrols for impaired drivers. Please help us keep the roads safe by not drinking and driving or getting a designated driver to take you home. If you see an impaired driver, please call 911 or *HP immediately. Our traffic unit and DUI Enforcement Officer will continue to work aggressively to keep the streets in the City of Hartsville safe for everyone.
Below are some of the signs that may indicate an impaired driver:
- Making unusually wide turns
- Straddling the centerline or driving with their tires on the centerline
- Driving with head out of the window or with car windows down in cold weather
- Nearly hitting another vehicle, object, or person
- Weaving or swerving
- Driving on the shoulder of the road or in the emergency lane
- Driving with excessive speed or very low speed and changing speed rapidly or slowly
- Stopping without apparent cause
- Following too closely
- Drifting or braking erratically
- Driving in or crossing into opposite lanes of traffic
| Category | Instances |
|---|---|
| Driving Under the Influence | 6 |
| Driving Under Suspension | 29 |
| No SC Driver’s License | 10 |
| Alcohol Law Violations | 2 |
| Child Endangerment | 1 |
| Seatbelt | 15 |
| Operating Uninsured | 10 |
| Drug Violations | 9 |
| Other Traffic Violations | 68 |
| Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) | Typical Effects | Predictable Effects on Driving |
|---|---|---|
| 0.02 | Some loss of judgment; relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood | Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target), decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention) |
| 0.05 | Exaggerated behavior, may have loss of small-muscle control (e.g., focusing your eyes), impaired judgment, usually good feeling, lowered alertness, release of inhibition | Reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, reduced response to emergency driving situations |
| 0.08 | Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing), harder to detect danger; judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired | Concentration, short-term memory loss, speed control, reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search), impaired perception |
| 0.10 | Clear deterioration of reaction time and control, slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking | Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately |
| 0.15 | Far less muscle control than normal, vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol), major loss of balance | Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing |