State Highway Patrol Cpl. Glen T. Levine says so few troopers patrol Richland County's 2,323 miles of roads that about the most they have time to handle are the serious crashes.

As state budget cuts have thinned the county's squad from 40 troopers a few years ago to fewer than 25, he has been forced to cover three shifts a day with only three troopers per shift.

"One man is assigned to each of the interstates (for each shift)," said Levine, an 11-year veteran. "The secondary roads are pretty much not even covered."

Richland County's troopers cover I-77, I-26 and I-20.

Although the number of vehicles on state highways and roads probably has tripled over the past three years, Levine said, the number of troopers has declined.

No shift has enough troopers to watch for speeding or to set up radar.

"The biggest change is the response time to accidents. It can take an average of 35 minutes to get to a call. We have to prioritize our calls." Crashes without injuries are low priorities, Levine said.

On a typical 12-hour shift, a trooper might spend eight hours investigating crashes, which leaves little time for paperwork or to check on crash victims at hospitals.

"We get cussed at and screamed at because of the time it takes for us to get somewhere," Levine said.

Holidays pose scheduling challenges, Levine said, because little overtime is budgeted for beefed-up enforcement. Levine and other supervisors give troopers time off during the week to balance hours, shorting coverage on days before holidays.

"The guys are dealing with it," Levine said.

What bothers troopers more than the demanding hours is that their equipment is wearing out.

"I had a guy say the other night, 'I don't know how I'm going to make it to the wreck,' " Levine said. "He got to the wreck. But the car wouldn't go anymore. I told him to get a car he could drive the rest of the night. But there were no more."

Because of budget cuts, the patrol has not been able to rotate older vehicles out of the fleet, which results in less-reliable cars and higher maintenance costs, said Sherri Iaccobelli, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety.

Before the cuts began, the state was buying about 300 cars each year; this year 60 were bought, she said. Before cuts, the cars were rotated out around 80,000 miles; now they are kept until 100,000 miles, she said.

The Highway Patrol is part of Public Safety. Its director, Boykin Rose, answers to Gov. Mark Sanford.

"An unreliable vehicle can put a trooper in a more vulnerable position when it comes to apprehending violators," Iaccobelli said.

Since becoming a corporal about a year ago, Levine has looked for ways to motivate the troopers he supervises.

Some troopers have left for better-paying jobs. Troopers who came from police departments that paid more "are sort of wishing they hadn't," Levine said.

But pay raises are out of the question because of the budget cuts.

He writes his troopers "little letters, telling them they did a good job. I let a guy who's done a good job take off early," although he rarely can afford to do that because of the shortage of troopers.

But a big paycheck and time off were never incentives for Levine in becoming a state trooper.

"It had been a childhood dream for me to become a trooper. When I was in school, I knew I was going to be one.

"When I started, I made $19,000 a year. I probably didn't care if I got a paycheck."

Almost every trooper works a second job. "We all end up working seven days a week," he said.

Levine, 34, runs a landscaping business to help support his wife and two young sons.

In about 14 years, he could retire from the patrol.

"I'll still be young when I hit 25 years. If I find I'm still helping people, I'll probably stay."

Reach Hines at (803) 771-8549 and at lhines@thestate.com