Gov. Mark Sanford is scheduled to travel to Gardens Corner in northern Beaufort County this morning to address the deadly highway there.

He is expected to announce increased patrols on a 22-mile stretch of U.S. 17 that is as deadly as any in the state. The crashes -- and deaths -- in that heavily used link to Charleston are coming so fast that the whole situation is a blight on the state as a whole. The state and federal governments owe the public a safe highway, and it has long been acknowledged that this particular road needs to be widened to four lanes. The plans are in hand, but the money is not.

But at the same time, the public also bears responsibility. The public must drive more safely. Everyone who has taken what should be a pleasant trip to Charleston over some of the most beautiful countryside in the nation has experienced the race-track mentality of many of the drivers. People pass when they shouldn't. They tailgate. They speed. Add fog, darkness, blinding sunshine, curves, dangerous intersections, soft shoulders, big trees, big trucks and road rage to the mix and the pleasant trip becomes a gamble with life and death.

It shouldn't be that way, and Sanford should demand more law enforcement.

Even with the new push to get the road widened, it will be years before that is a reality. Those pushing for money need support. But more can be done in the meantime.

Increased Highway Patrol enforcement is an important step. More blue lights flashing will not only hit people in the pocketbook, it also should get a lot more drivers to slow down and pay better attention when they see the police at work. When things go bad, a natural inclination is to write a new law. In this case, like many, the better answer is to simply enforce the laws we already have. The people should expect it, and the state should do it.

Other suggestions are also on the table. The state Department of Transportation is suggesting two stop-gap measures that should both be done. One proposal is to route the heavy trucks away from this stretch of U.S. 17 -- sending them out to Interstate 95. Because of the port in Charleston, many big trucks rip up and down U.S. 17. That could be changed. Another suggestion is to add rumble strips to alert drivers when they are veering in the wrong direction before disaster strikes.

Together, the suggested improvements would go a long way toward making U.S. 17 safer until it can be widened. The sad statistics show that it must be done.