NASHVILLE, N.C. — It’s been one year since the Governor’s Highway Safety Program awarded $20 million in grants to 106 organizations to support local and statewide transportation safety initiatives.
The Nash County Sheriff’s Office was one entity receiving a grant, which it has used to fund a four-person Crash Reduction Team.
Deputies Devin Denton and Devin Hicks are partners on the team, working together to perform traffic stops in high-traffic areas where speeding and vehicle crashes are prevalent in Nash County.
“The way the grant works, you have to show that you are doing what the grant is intended for. Statistics showing you are making the highway safer,” Denton explained. “So, through enforcement, we are able to get crash data down. And that’s the ultimate thing, is to avoid major fatalities, major injury crashes out here.”
“We’re looking for your aggressive drivers, your dangerous drivers. One thing we really focus on is intoxicated drivers. We’re seeing a rise in that, unfortunately. We’re out here just trying to make a difference,” Denton said.
Data from Oct. 2022 to Aug. 2023 shows the Crash Reduction Team has been responsible for 2,454 total traffic and criminal charges.
Hicks says the job isn’t about writing tickets, it’s about making an impact and saving lives.
“It’s the fact that I could have made an impact on someone’s life today. I could have saved his family, your family, my family from a drunk driver,” Hicks said. “In reality, to me, it’s just one of the most fulfilling things. And I’m thankful that I make it home every day.”
His biggest advice to anyone on the roadways is to think before you act.
“When you get out here on this highway, you’re not just driving for yourself, you have to drive for everyone else out here,” Hicks said. “You have to be vigilant and just be careful. That’s all we ask. And don’t drink and drive. You might ruin your life.”
Nash County is ranked 14th in overall fatalities, 12th in alcohol-related fatalities, 11th in unrestrained fatalities and 11th in speed-related fatalities, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
NCSO’s grant totaled $478,930, with $407,091 of it being federal and the remaining $71,839 being both state and locally funded. The money supports the salaries, equipment, hours, education and outreach of four deputies.
According to NCDOT, the grants are administered to fund a variety of initiatives, including impaired driving, speeding, occupant protection, pedestrians and cyclists, motorcyclists and teen and senior drivers.
Click here to learn more about the GHSP and this initiative.