The Myrtle Beach area has reached its off-season, reducing the number of motorists on the road.
However, the area will see an increase of motorcyclists when the Myrtle Beach Fall Bike Rally starts the first week of October.
That could lead to more accidents as the roadways get crowded.
Out of all the vehicle fatalities this year, almost 25% of them involved a person on a motorcycle, according to releases sent by Horry County deputy coroners Tamara Willard and Michelle McSpadden.
Since the beginning of 2024 the coroner’s office has reported nine people who died from a motorcycle accident, including the most recent fatality when the motorcyclist collided with a deer.
Some of those involved people who were here for the spring bike rally, including Tara Posey, 52, who died the week of the Spring Bike Rally on May 16.
Another man heading to Myrtle Beach Bike Week died in accident in Kershaw County in May. That number, however, would not be included in Horry County’s numbers.
Horry County is one of the top counties in South Carolina with motor vehicle deaths this year. It’s tied with Charleston as the second county with the most vehicle deaths, with Greenville County coming in first, according to South Carolina Highway Patrol data.
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 22, there have been 40 traffic deaths in Horry County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. This is down from the previous years, in which Horry County had up to 50 deaths in the same time period.
Data from the South Carolina Highway Patrol suggests fatalities involving a drunk driver have increased in Horry County in recent years, according to the 2022 Fact Book. The latest data is from 2022 and analysis for 2023 has not been released.
The number of fatal accidents involving a person with a BAC of .08% or higher increased from 18 to 37 from 2020 to 2022. This accounted for nearly half of all deadly crashes in 2022.
Loris teenager Sean Herd was killed in August while driving home from band camp. The high school senior was hit head on by an alleged drunk driver.
Over 100,000 motorcyclists will head into the Myrtle Beach area for the rally, which runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 6, according to Myrtle Beach Bike Rally Promotion Committee Lee “Spider” Webb. Most of the events take place in the Murrells Inlet area.
Bill Barber, the special events coordinator at biker bar Suck Bang Blow in Murrells Inlet, offered tips for driving with and around motorcycles in a recent press release.
Barber recommends avoiding unnecessary lane changes, keeping an eye and ear out for motorcycles and giving them the right of way when possible.
“Let’s keep in mind that what may be a minor fender bender for a car could have much more serious consequences for a motorcycle rider,” Barber said.
Source Agencies
