Lexington PD enforcing traffic laws at collision prone intersections through May

LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WOLO)– The Town of Lexington Police are out in full force for the month of May monitoring collision prone intersections. 

Police say major intersections like the one on Sunset Blvd and Old Cherokee Road are becoming a bigger problem.

“So we’ve come up with a campaign for the major intersections here in town. West Main Street at Park Road, Northlake Drive and Sunset, Sunset and Old Cherokee, Hope Ferry and Sunset, to get the drivers attention that red lights and traffic signals are posted and they have to abide by the rules.”

Corporal Grady Johnson says Sunset Blvd is probably the busiest road in Lexington County, with around 100,000 drivers passing through each day. As more people head back to work, traffic is getting worse. 

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in road traffic since things with the pandemic have been going down, and it’s not our desire to write tickets, but it is our job to keep everyone safe. Over the last year at this intersection or around this intersection alone, we’ve had about 28 collisions.”

While phones and social media are a contributing factor to many of these collisions, in some ways they can help officers spread their critical message.

“A lot of people will post their experiences on social media, telling people ‘hey be careful in Lexington, stop at red lights, they will write tickets,’ and I’m okay with that because the goal is not to write tickets, but to get the word out there that the lights are there.”

Police say disregarding a traffic sign like a stop sign or a red light could cost you $232.50 and 4 points on your license.