GREENVILLE CO., S.C. (WSPA) – Traffic on Woodruff Road is always busy. At intersections drivers try to make it through the light and sometimes don’t make it, causing cars to get stuck and block traffic.
South Carolina Highway Patrol said this is very dangerous and results in more crashes.
“Blocking the intersection, that does happen quite a bit and can get you upset,” Upstate resident Steve Shiffler said.
Highway patrol said several collisions happen every day on busy roads in Greenville County. They said the main reason is drivers not paying attention.
“There were days I worked three or four collisions on Woodruff Road alone,” Master Trooper Mitchell Ridgeway said.
Woodruff Road has several places for shopping, dining, and entertainment; drawing a lot of people to the area. With so many traffic lights, the road is heavy in stop and go traffic.
“When it is busy it can be pretty bad with the stop lights,” Shiffler said.
“We see a ton of improper starts and stops where people are looking down and traffic pulls off,” Ridgeway said. “Traffic gets stopped again, they are still looking down and start going down the road, next thing you know you’ve got a minor fender bender.”
Drivers said they try to avoid Woodruff Road when in a hurry and wish for increased patrols.
“I think if there was a presence of Highway Patrol that might help a ton,” Upstate resident Kevin Sopko said.
Highway Patrol is advising if you use busy roads like Woodruff Road to be patient, alert, and follow the speed limit.
Highway Patrol said widened lanes or even traffic circles could eventually come to Woodruff Road but that decision would be up to SCDOT engineers.
