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Colonel Dwayne Wilson image
Colonel Dwayne Wilson
Commander, State Transport Police

The South Carolina State Transport Police is the sole law enforcement organization in South Carolina for enforcing both federal regulations and state laws pertaining to commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Although STP officers specialize in commercial motor vehicle enforcement, they also enforce state traffic laws for non-commercial drivers regularly.

STP’s major objectives are to protect the motoring public by: 

  • preventing collisions;
  • removing unsafe drivers and vehicles from our roads;
  • protecting our environment from hazardous materials being transported on our roadways; and
  • preventing the premature deterioration of our roads and bridges through the STP Size and Weight Enforcement Program.

STP officers work throughout South Carolina’s 46 counties, patrolling all our highways and interstates for unsafe commercial motor vehicles and commercial drivers, as well as all unsafe vehicles, to help protect the public daily. 

STP works hand-in-hand with all divisions of the Department of Public Safety, including the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Protective Services. STP also works in close partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the South Carolina Trucking Association, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, and the South Carolina Department of Transportation, as well as other state and local law enforcement agencies.

The South Carolina State Transport Police was created in 1993 as a division within the Department of Public Safety and a part of the State Government Restructuring Act.

The primary objective of the State Transport Police is to protect the motoring public by preventing accidents, removing unsafe drivers and vehicles from our roadways, and preventing the premature deterioration of our roads and bridges through the STP Size and Weight Enforcement Program. Although STP officers specialize in commercial motor vehicle enforcement, they also enforce state traffic laws for non-commercial drivers regularly.

Trucks and commercial motor vehicles play a crucial role in our state’s economy, and our officers are working to promote driving habits that keep CMV drivers and the motoring public safe. South Carolina has nine Weigh Stations located throughout its interstate highway system. Based on the most recent enforcement data, these facilities strategically operate on days and hours that match peak traffic patterns. All Weigh Stations are staffed through additional operational periods when necessary.

STP officers undergo more than 1,000 hours of training to ensure they are competent in enforcing state and federal regulations. Since 2019, our officers have removed more than 14,000 unsafe drivers and more than 20,000 unsafe vehicles from our roadways.

The State Transport Police will continue to work our high-crash corridors and complaint areas to reduce collisions resulting in injury or death on South Carolina roadways, especially those involving commercial motor vehicles. Through innovative outreach initiatives, including our DRIVE 2 Zero program, we also seek to educate the motoring public about safe driving practices around these larger vehicles.

Thank you for your interest in the South Carolina Transport Police. Please visit our web page regularly for updates and information.

State Transport Police Regions

The State Transport Police is divided into six Regions across South Carolina, as well as a Special Operations Unit and the Motor Carrier Compliance Unit. 

  • Region 1 includes Calhoun, Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland and Sumter counties.
  • Region 2 includes Abbeville, Aiken, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, and Saluda counties.
  • Region 3 includes Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties.
  • Region 4 includes Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Lancaster, Union, and York counties.
  • Region 5 includes Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro, and Williamsburg counties.
  • Region 6 includes Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton, and Jasper counties.

STP Specialized Units 

In addition to size and weight enforcement and regular patrols, the State Transport Police has specialized teams to ensure highway safety across various areas. Read more about these special enforcement units below.

HAZMAT/Level VI Team 

STP’s HAZMAT/Level VI team are some of the most highly trained officers in the field of hazardous materials, radioactive materials, and transuranic waste regulations. This unit helps to ensure companies and their drivers meet state and federal safety standards as they transport hazardous or radioactive material within South Carolina.

Motor Carrier Compliance (MCC) Unit 

The Motor Carrier Compliance Unit is comprised of STP officers and auditors who travel to commercial trucking companies throughout the state conducting safety audits of their commercial motor vehicle fleets and driver information, all while analyzing company information to ensure compliance with safety regulations designated by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Contact the Motor Carrier Compliance Unit here.

DRIVE Team 

The STP DRIVE Team focuses on traffic enforcement, criminal drug interdiction, impaired driving detection and enforcement, and identifying and stopping human trafficking by conducting high visibility enforcement operations in identified “high crash corridors” throughout the state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Note – these citations begin with the letters WA, which is displayed on the lower right-hand corner of the citation.

To pay a citation for size, weight, and safety violations, visit the State Transport Police's Uniform Size, Weight, Idling, and Safety Online Citation Payment portal here.

To pay a Uniform Traffic Ticket, you must make a payment to the city or county in which the ticket was issued. You can learn more about the process, step-by-step at the South Carolina Court Payments webpage here.

Note – these citations begin with the numbers 2025.

If you need to identify your ticket number, visit the South Carolina Judicial Branch's Traffic Ticket Search webpage here.

You can view all load restricted bridges in the state on the SC Department of Transportation's interactive map here.

The DRIVE 2 ZERO (D2Z) Program is one of the State Transport Police’s outreach and education initiatives that aim to address unsafe driving behaviors before they occur, especially in and around commercial motor vehicles. Each year, more than 8,000 participants get to experience what it is like to drive impaired or distracted behind the wheel. Read more about the Drive 2 Zero Program here.

Additional Resources

Related Links

State Transport Police Officer Careers

If you are seeking employment in a fast paced, diverse environment, while working outdoors and interacting with the public, applying to be an STP officer could be one of the most rewarding decisions you will ever make.

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State Transport Police Contact Information

Contact the State Transport Police (STP).

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STP Safety Presentations

The DRIVE 2 ZERO (D2Z) Program is one of the State Transport Police’s outreach and education initiatives that aim to address unsafe driving behaviors before they occur, especially in and around commercial motor vehicles.

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