Truckers Push Safety Amid Labor Day Travel Rush

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On Friday (August 29, 2025) truckers, trucking firm operators and members of law enforcement gathered at Orangeburg Westbound Rest Area on Interstate 26 to remind travelers of the importance of roadway safety amid the labor day travel rush.

The event, put on by the South Carolina Trucking Association (SCTA) was part of a broader campaign from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and American Trucking Associations (ATA) to educate drivers on the common cause of accidents.

Walmart private fleet driver LeRoy Porterfield spoke with FITSNews about his experiences growing up around the trucking industry and gave drivers practical advice on how to avoid deadly accidents.

“My Dad drove, my uncles drove, so I jumped right out of high school into a smaller truck,” he said. “I enjoy what I do – family life is different, but my family grew with me. My wife and my kids grew right into trucking as I grew into trucking, so they understand being away from home, which is a blessing.”

When asked what he thinks passenger vehicle drivers should know, Porter emphasized the importance of blind spots and following at a safe distance.

“If I can’t see you, you can’t see me,” he said. “So if I make a maneuver around an object in the road, you have no chance of making that same maneuver because you’re tailgating.”

Porterfield recommended drivers follow “at least five car lengths back.”

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“That gives you enough stopping time if I have to react to anything in front of me, because I’m also carrying a massive, massive amount of weight,” he said. “So my stopping distance is going to be greater.”

Porterfield’s rig was setup at the rest area with a car parked in it’s blind spot, serving as both a stark reminder for drivers and an opportunity for dozens of children to get to see the inside of a truck cab – and to blow it’s massive horn.

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“I can remember when as a kid when my dad would come in town, and I’d want to honk the horn and I would jump up up and down just to get the clothes out of the truck when he got back,” Porterfield said. “So to see the kids’ faces today, they’re looking in the back like, ‘Yo, you sleep here,’ it’s amazing.'”

When asked what hazards he saw on the roadway beyond blind spots, Porterfield was quick to point to distracted driving and cell phone usage.

“We’re so fixated now on the cell phones, we lose sight of everyday driving,” he said.

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RELATED | ‘HANDS FREE’ LAW TO TAKE EFFECT SEPTEMBER 1

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“I want to get directions, everyone’s got the GPS – It’s one thing to have it here,” he said, miming a driver holding a phone while keeping their eyes on the road.

“But it’s another when they have it here, right?” he said, imitating a driver looking at a phone in their lap. “You’ve got a hand off the wheel. You’re not looking up as you need to.”

Porterfield said he’s seen a marked increase in tailgating and rear-ending as drivers have increased their phone usage over time.

When asked what he thought of the state’s new prohibition on drivers using cell phones, Porterfield expressed his support.

“I’m thankful for it,” he said. “I think it’s going to prevent accidents.”

S.C. State Transport Police (STP) Officers D.E. Lucas a L.M Loredo spoke with FITSNews about responding to motor vehicle collisions and the state’s new Hands Free law.

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“We are called out to various commercial vehicle accidents, some fatalities, some major injuries, and a lot of times it’s due to someone being in a no zone, is what they’re called – or a blind spot,” Lucas said, adding “a lot of times a cell phone might have a play in that.”

“It’s key, especially now with the new state law coming out this month, that people put their phones down, keep their eyes up on the road and just make sure that you’re being cautious as you’re traveling around these motor vehicles that may have these blind spots,” he added.

When asked what law enforcement would be looking for when enforcing the new cell phone ban, Loredo explained drivers “can’t have their cell phones in their hand.”

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“We can’t catch them touching the screen, and they can’t have it in their lap,” Loredo noted law enforcement are “just giving out warnings for the first six months.”

After that, “it starts with two points, and then it jumps up to four points,” Lucas warned.

“A lot of the cars that are traveling on the roadway these days have Bluetooth capability,” Lucas advised that “If you have it, use it, the ultimate goal is to keep the phone down and eyes up on the road, because if you don’t have your eyes on the road, then that’s when the accidents happen.”

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“Talking to people in the public, they are all in agreement that we do need safer roads, and they love the fact that we’re out here promoting safety,” N.W. White director of safety John Billingsley told FITSNews.

“It’s Labor Day weekend, we got a lot of traffic through here, and everybody was excited to get up in a truck and meet some of our State Transport Police, some members from the Trucking Association, and then also some truck drivers and people in the safety field,” Billingsley said.

“We have over 1,000 fatalities in South Carolina each year, and the large majority of them are caused by non-commercial vehicles,” Billingsley warned.

He emphasized that if a motorist can’t see a truck “driver’s face in their side view mirrors, then that driver can’t see them – that’s primarily the right hand side of the vehicle, but it’s directly behind the vehicle, as well.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

(Via: Travis Bell)

Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.

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