Executive Summary The current trajectory of drunk driving fatalities in South Carolina is both alarming and unacceptable. In 2022, South Carolina had 474 drunk driving fatalities—5 th highest total in the nation, and 72% higher than 2019. It is the second highest year on record for the state, and no state had a higher rate of drunk driving deaths based on population. The designation of worst state in the nation for drunk driving is clear. Perhaps it should come as no surprise as our state’s DUI laws have long been known as among the nation’s weakest and are riddled with loopholes that affect felony and misdemeanor cases. The numbers in this report of how rarely people are being convicted after a first arrest are not just disappointing, they threaten the lives of every driver on our roads. They contribute to a culture of viewing DUI as unimportant or just a “mistake” rather than a crime that can affect any of us tragically in an instant. This system, operating under these problematic laws, is broken, and the consequences are clear. This report is a product of MADD South Carolina’s Court Monitoring program. MADD SC monitors the outcomes of first offense misdemeanor DUI cases in seven large South Carolina counties: Berkeley, Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Lexington, Richland, and Spartanburg. The program’s goals are to compile relevant statistics regarding the dispositions of DUI cases in the courtrooms, to raise awareness of the level of public concern regarding the dispositions of DUI cases, and to report information on the dispositions of DUI cases in order to make improvements to the DUI enforcement, prosecution and/or adjudication systems. Court Monitoring staff collected specific information on cases from attending court hearings or through case research online. We also have held multiple meetings with informed individuals within the enforcement and prosecution communities to assist with interpretation and context. This is our fifth report and shares findings based on cases we have followed since the beginning of 2019 that have come to a final disposition. Our data for Berkeley County showed 33% of 608 cases ended with a guilty conviction for DUI or the equivalent charge of Driving with an Unlawful Alcohol Concentration. Charleston County was 42% of 1,339 cases. Greenville County was 58% of 2,182 cases. Horry County was 31% of 1,331 cases. Lexington County was 40% of 1,213 cases. Richland County was 18% of 1,111 cases. Spartanburg County was 65% of 1,127 cases. Of the cases that did not end up as guilty of DUI, it varied by county whether the final outcome was most often a plea to a lesser charge like reckless driving (even more common than a DUI conviction in some counties) or whether we classified the case as “dropped, dismissed, or not guilty.” MADD’s 2021 Court Monitoring national report shows a combined conviction rate of 58% across 15 states with Court Monitoring data for that year. Clearly, South Carolina falls behind most of the nation. The reasons for our state’s unacceptably low conviction rate are many and include an unfairly strict videotaping statute, a system that practically rewards those who violate their agreement to provide a breath or blood sample if asked, too many areas where
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