Florence County Sheriff's Office launches new unit to reduce deadly wrecks

Florence, S.C. (WPDE) — The Florence County sheriffs office has launched a traffic enforcement unit dedicated to reducing traffic fatalities in Florence County.

There are six deputies working with the traffic enforcement unit and each officer will be outfitted with a brand new Ford Explorer patrol SUV, dash cameras, radars, emergency warning equipment and laser speed measuring devices.

The unit will primarily focus on seat belt usage, DUI and speeding.

There have been 88 people killed in car crashes in Florence County since 2014 and Florence County Sheriff Kenny Boone believes the new traffic enforcement unit will be key in curbing highway deaths.

"We just feel like that our presence in these stops will make the public aware of what we're doing. Being visible in what we're doing and hopefully, they'll slow down and wear their seat belts," said Boone.