Police officials: People ‘finally getting the message’ about drunk driving, drinking at Carolina cup

Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department officials said Monday that people are “finally getting the message” about driving under the influence after only three arrests were made during the Carolina Cup weekend.

Sheriff Jim Matthews said the decreased number of DUI arrests is also attributed to the increased attention from law enforcement in cracking down on drunk drivers.

Matthews said 14 sheriff's deputies trained in DUI enforcement made 281 traffic stops during the Carolina Cup.

Matthews also said that his traffic enforcement team efforts resulted in 66 open container violations, eight minor in possession of alcohol cases, two possession of marijuana cases and various other traffic citations.

In all, Kershaw County sheriff's deputies issued 111 warning tickets and 170 traffic citations for more serious traffic offenses.

“Alcohol consumption at the Carolina Cup generally results in a good number of arrests, to include DUI arrests. We want to shed the dubious distinction of having one of the highest DUI fatality rates in South Carolina,” Matthews said in a statement. “I am very pleased with these numbers.”

Camden Police Chief Joe Floyd seemed to second Sheriff Matthews’ findings saying his officers who were also on the scene Saturday, made fewer arrests than previous years. Camden police charged 257 people, most with disorderly conduct and underage drinking. In addition, 44 people were taken off racecourse grounds to the Kershaw County Detention Center.

Although he could not provide an exact number, Floyd also said there was an increase in underage drinking charges. However, this he attributed to ten additional undercover SLED officers present for the cup.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 10:04 AM.