CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The South Carolina Highway Patrol is pushing to add more state troopers.
A hiring event will be held in Conway on Monday for people to meet recruiters and apply in person.
The recruiting event will be at the Conway Highway Patrol office from 11am until 1pm. You can fill out an application on site and you don’t need to bring a resume.
Their plans to add more troopers will mean more patrols in the fast growing Grand Strand region.
“When you look at a place like Horry County, it just seems like construction is everywhere, highways are being expanded everywhere, put on top of that all of the tourists and this is obviously a place we’re going to be adding more state troopers,” said Corporal Sonny Collins.
Cpl. Collins says as the number of people living and visiting the Grand Strand grows, so do the potential hazards on the roads.
“Speeding, failure to cede to right away, DUI and then put that with not wearing a seatbelt and it often ends in tragedy,” said Cpl. Collins.
Having more troopers on the street means more than making arrests, Collins says the added visibility of patrols can deter drivers before making a mistake.
“Seeing that trooper out there on a routine basis will cause that driving behavior to be much better and hopefully will reduce collisions which in turn will hopefully reduce fatalities,” said Collins.
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety in 2015 there were 265 deadly crashes in South Carolina; this year there’s already been 241.
“When it comes to a car crash you could be do everything right, but because of mistake by another driver you could lose your life, so troopers take that very seriously that is our mission here in South Carolina is to reduce fatalities,” said Cpl. Collins.
He invites anyone who may be interested in serving the public to consider applying to join.
“I think if you see anyone come to a career as any first responder it’s because they want to help somebody, they want to help people and they want to prevent tragedies on our roads; and if that’s what your calling is I think you’ll have a great career with us,” said Cpl. Collins.
If you can’t make Monday’s event, you can still apply online at SCDPS.gov.
