Drivers taking U.S. 278 through Beaufort or Jasper counties should expect a heavier-than-usual police presence as several law enforcement agencies team up for a weeklong traffic safety initiative.
Dubbed “Operation Safe Drive 278” and taking place Monday through Saturday, the effort is aimed at targeting speeding, improper lane changes and turn signals, and violations of South Carolina’s new “hands-free” law, which took effect at the start of September.
And in the wake of three state troopers being struck by vehicles during traffic stops within a month, one fatally, the initiative will also focus on penalizing violators of the state’s “move over” law. It requires drivers to slow down or switch lanes away from a stopped emergency vehicle when approaching one…