While University students prepare to hit the highways for Fall Break, Virginia authorities are intensifying efforts to ensure drivers stay safe on the road. In response to high numbers of highway fatalities in recent years, the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Virginia State Police have joined forces in the hopes of drastically reducing the number of fatal accidents.
VDOT Chief of Communications Jeffrey Caldwell said 961 fatalities occurred on Virginia highways last year. This year's statistics so far show an increase of 50 fatalities from the same time last year.
Because of the rising number of fatalities, DMV spokesperson Melanie Stokes said the three organizations plan to challenge Virginians to drive safer. The slogan of the initiative, "Are you Virginia's next traffic fatality?" will be broadcast on various electronic message boards and on radio stations throughout the Commonwealth.Efforts to increase awareness will be combined with increased enforcement.
"This is a united three-pronged approach to traffic safety statewide, and obviously the police bring up the enforcement part of this campaign," said Corinne Geller, Virginia State Police public relations manager. "Our initial test took place on Interstates 95 and 81, and with the positive public response and the overall success of this [campaign], we've continued it and spread out across Virginia."
Caldwell said drivers can take a number of measures to improve their safety, including wearing seat belts and being aware of large vehicles and pedestrians.
"Drive drug- and alcohol-free, and obey the posted speed limits," he said. "If people did [all of these things], we could really see a significant drop in highway deaths."
Despite past warnings and messages, the number of highway deaths continues to rise each year, Caldwell said, adding that the partnership "realized that we can do a lot in terms of engineering, education and enforcement."
To promote awareness and understanding, VDOT, DMV and the police post the number of highway deaths per hour daily on their joint Web site. Geller used the example of the duration of a press conference to emphasize the frequency of fatalities.
"Just 30 minutes prior to [the press] conference, we had a driver killed," Geller said. "As [we were] holding this press conference to call attention to this problem, we had someone else already killed."
The ultimate goal of this partnership, Caldwell said, is to reduce the highway death toll significantly.
"Last year the Commonwealth of Virginia developed a strategic highway plan: we would cut highway fatalities by 100 by the year 2010," he said. "We are trying to reach that goal"
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