Based on the declining number of fatalities, 2009 turned out to be the safest in the last 14 years on South Carolina roadways.

Sissy Brock of the Cherokee County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse believes those declining numbers have everything to do with the work of South Carolina’s patrol officers, particularly those who get drunk drivers off the streets.

On Tuesday, the alcohol and drug abuse commission honored four local officers who accounted for the most DUI arrests in their respective departments last year, among them two officers who are familiar faces.

Deputy Brian Mullinax of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and Master Police Officer Michael Scruggs, who recorded the most DUI arrests in their respective departments, have each won the awards for their offices for the past several years.

Mullinax also recently received the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office award for Law Enforcement Excellence while Sheriff Bill Blanton said Mullinax also is the recipient of a state award for valor from the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association.

“He’s the bar we set for all of our officers,” the sheriff said.

Scruggs has won the award from the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission for the past four years. On a bad note for drunk drivers, Gaffney Police Chief Rick Turner noted that his top DUI cop currently is attending advanced DUI detection classes.

The award for the Blacksburg Police Department went to Officer Shane Childers and was presented by Sgt. Peter McBride.

Leading the local post of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Sr. Trooper J.H. White took 41 drunk drivers off the road last year.

His superior, 1st Sgt. Steve Mueller expects White, a local product who previously served in the Greenville area, also to be a familiar face going forward.

“I’m sure you guys will see him again at future award ceremonies,” Mueller said, noting that White’s 41 arrests were on top of all his other duties as a patrol officer.

The annual award ceremony is not a competition, even though it’s based on individual performances.

“It (the awards) gives us a chance to recognize all their hard work and efforts throughout the year to keep the highways safe and to make sure individuals are held accountable,” said Robert Strait, deputy director and treatment director for the Cherokee County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

In 2009, 881 people died on South Carolina’s roadways, the lowest number since 1995. Typically, officials say drunk driving accounts for about half of all roadway deaths.