GARDENS CORNER--Gov. Mark Sanford brought a six state Highway Patrol motorcycle troopers when he came to town Monday, all with the intention of cracking down on speeders along the deadly segment of U.S. Highway 17 between Gardens Corner and Jacksonboro.

The motorcycle troopers wasted no time in pulling over drivers and writing tickets as part of a special enforcement effort that will last at least three weeks.

WADE SPEES/STAFF Crosses mark the location near Gardens Corner where three sailors died in a March 2004 bus accident. The South Carolina Highway Patrol has increased its presence along the stretch of U.S. Highway 17 on which 23 people have been killed and 448 injured since 2001.

Their presence was a welcome sight to many residents, each of whom has multiple stories of near-collisions with cars that ignore the speed limit on the two-lane highway, which doesn't exceed 55 mph.

"I'm glad they're out," said Donnie Stringfield, who's been driving the stretch of road for 34 years. "I saw two Highway Patrol motorcycles today, and both of them had someone pulled over and writing tickets. I thought that was good."

Lance Cpl. Paul Brouthers said the troopers on motorcycles will be aided by the troopers normally assigned to Colleton and Beaufort counties in an attempt to increase their presence and slow traffic. The Department of Transportation also put up billboards cautioning drivers to slow down.

Brouthers stressed that the crackdown is about safety and not a ticket-writing campaign. "The goal in mind is not to have to write more tickets," he said.

More than 450 people have been killed or injured since 2001 along the 22-mile stretch of road.

In the past year, seven people have died in two collisions within 1-1/2 miles of each other near Gardens Corner, including three sailors who were riding in a Navy bus.

Transportation Commissioner John Hardee said he was happy to hear the governor's announcement. "I'm positive it will do some good," he said.

Debra DeMann, who lives along U.S. 17 and works at Carolina Cherry Co., said the sound of cars and trucks speeding by is U.S. 17 and works at Carolina Cherry Co., said the sound of cars and trucks speeding by is commonplace, despite a sign marking the speed limit as 45 mph.

"People need to slow down," she said. "Did you hear that truck flying by at 55 mph a bit ago? There's a lot of elderly who take the back roads and they're getting run over."

State officials are discussing a plan to widen the road, but the project hasn't been through the permitting process.

DeMann said a wider road will just attract more traffic. She blames many of the wrecks on tractor-trailers using U.S. 17 as a shortcut to get to Interstate 95 and suggests they be banned from the road.

"This is a beautiful road," she said. "They should slow down and let people enjoy this."

Colleton County Chief Magistrate Richard Wood, Stringfield and Colleton County Council all favor widening the road. Some people have a problem with the 100-foot buffers that are being proposed to ease the burden on the environment.

Wood and Stringfield, who both own land along the road, said such a buffer would put animal rights ahead of human safety and property rights.

Wood, who holds court at his Wood Brothers convenience store on U.S. 17, said the trucks aren't to blame for all the wrecks.

He said he's not sure speeding is the sole cause, though last week he ended his occasional practice of reducing the speed on tickets for motorists who plead guilty to speeding.

"I'm not going to accept a plea for anything less than that speed," he said.

IF YOU GO

Two meetings are scheduled to discuss speed limit enforcement and the widening of U.S. Highway 17:

-- 7 p.m. July 29: The Highway Patrol invites the public to St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Walterboro to discuss speed limit enforcement on the road.

-- 6 p.m. Aug. 2: Colleton County Council has invited the state Department of Transportation to attend its meeting in Walterboro to discuss widening plans.