News 12 at 6 o'clock; August 27, 2008

AIKEN, S.C. --- People who live along Powderhouse Road in Aiken County are worried about their safety. There are a lot of speeders there...but that's not the only problem.

The trash is piling up along the side of the road and people are flying around the curves in the road at speeds faster than they should. Now, people who live there want something done and something done soon.

Henry Faulkner's quiet road in Aiken County is Powderhouse Road. But he says, "we have a lot of big problems." Now, he's seeing a lot of problems with drivers who have the need for speed.

"Safety's been the biggest problem," says Henry. In fact, he's seen what that speed can do. "We've had so many accidents."

He says, the tree right in front of his house has been hit, too.

"I have personally witnesses a motorcycle almost lay it down coming around the side," says Henry.

The speed limit on the road is 35 MPH. We took out our radar gun to see just how fast people are driving. We clocked one driver at 47, two at 48, one at 51, another at 52 and even one driver at 54. That's 19 MPH over the posted speed limit.

Even getting the mail is a challenge for Henry.

"It's tight. It's very tight," he says of how close he needs to go to the road just to get his mail.

"When the speeders come around the corners, they've had to put on brakes, lock on brakes and skid," says Henry.

Problem number two is trash. "It's anything from targeting out mailbox with beer bottles... whole beer cans, full," says Henry.

The trash on the sides of the road is piling up. "Two to three days a week, just picking up litter," says Henry.

Problem number three is drainage. When it rains, like it's been doing lately, there is no place for the water to go off the road. So, it runs off by this dirt, making a very unsafe ledge for the people who live on the road.

"There's been anywhere between 2 and 3 feet of water. I'm talking about 36 inches of water covering the road," says Henry.

So, just what does Henry think the solution is right now?

"Determent would be a little more patrols," he says.

Also, he wants people to remember, Henry wants his neighborhood to simply, be safe.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation says they are looking at widening the road to add more shoulder room for drivers and the people who live on the road. They say, there are no plans right now to widen the road to add more lanes of traffic, nor are there plans to add a drainage system on the road.