Myrtle Beach police plan Friday night traffic checkpoint. Here’s what we know

Myrtle Beach drivers out in Market Common could encounter a police traffic checkpoint Friday night from 6 to 10 p.m.

Myrtle Beach Police Department spokesperson Randolph Angotti told The Sun News he didn’t know on which specific streets the checkpoint will be conducted in the Market Common area.

The initiative will be conducted in conjunction with neighboring law enforcement agencies.

“There’s a circuit group that works together, and that’s North Myrtle Beach, Horry County and the Myrtle Beach Police Department,” said Angotti. “It’s just a group of Horry County law enforcement agencies that work together to conduct these.”

Officers will focus on driver’s license violations, impaired driving and vehicle registration and insurance compliance, according police.

Traffic violations and alleged bomb-making materials

Friday’s traffic checkpoint comes four days after a driver stopped by police on South Ocean Boulevard was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine, simple possession of marijuana, driving under suspension, failure to dim headlights and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

According to police, officers found firearms, gunpowder and “possible bomb making materials” in a search of the Darlington man’s car.

However, police say the arrest didn’t influence the Friday checkpoint.

“It takes, takes a little bit more coordination than a couple days, to coordinate multiple agencies to put together a checkpoint and to get the manpower for the officers to be able to commit to that time,” Angotti said, “But that traffic stop ... underscores the importance of those traffic stops, and that it can often be forgotten that just a simple traffic stop can lead to a much more serious incident or crime.”

Market Common traffic

Police denied that Market Common was selected for a traffic checkpoint for any particular reason, rather it was chosen as a periodic practice.

“We do them in different parts of our city, just we make sure that we’re hitting all the major throughways in our city, making sure that anybody who’s operating motor vehicles in those areas throughout the time of year are just operating them safely,” said Angotti.

But traffic practices in Market Common have drawn city focus in recent years. Residents have bemoaned dangerous driving in community meetings, and last April, the City of Myrtle Beach dropped the Farrow Parkway speed limit from 35 mph to 30 mph.

Under the new speed limit, some in the area have continued to push for a 25 mph limit. This year, Myrtle Beach City Council introduced a motion to develop a traffic-calming plan on Farrow Parkway.

“The idea here is, the residents, more than a year ago, about a year ago, asked for the speed limit to be lowered in the downtown area of the Market Common on Farrow Parkway. The city dropped the speed limit to 30, and yet speeding still continues,” Mayor Mark Kruea said in January.

This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 1:18 PM.