More than 700 crashes were recorded on Lincoln County roadways in the past five years, according to county engineer Ryan Holmes.

That seems like a very high number, but that equals about 12 crashes per month, or about two to three per week.

“A couple of y’all mentioned wanting information about intersections and roads that were having wrecks and issues on them,” Holmes told the Board of Supervisors. “I got a hold of the right people, and I got the data on all of the wrecks on all of the county roads in the last five years — from 2011 to February of this year. According to this data, we’ve had 728 crashes, 21 fatalities and 570 injuries in five years, which is a lot.”

Holmes gathered the data at the request of the Board of Supervisors, who wanted the info to determine which roads should be targeted for repairs. A handful of roads had several accidents, including Auburn Road with 47 crashes (32 of them were drunk-driving related), East Lincoln Road with 42 and Jackson-Liberty with 34.

The data can be used to determine if a particular stretch of road is dangerous, or if a section needs more signage or markers. It’s valuable data and we’re thankful the board requested it.

Government is at its best when it’s working to ensure the safety of residents. Finding ways to possibly reduce car accidents is a good way to invest the board’s time and resources.