More traffic fatalities occur in the outer suburbs of Virginia than in the commonwealth’s inner suburbs and cities, according to a recent study by William Lucy, a University urban and environmental planning professor.
Lucy said he was not surprised by the results of his most recent research because they are consistent with other data he has collected since the 1980s regarding the topic, noting that his goal was “to see the dangers of leaving home and traveling.”
He said people familiar with the rural roads they travel on each day often do not realize those areas are where they are more likely to get in a fatal accident.
“I really think people aren’t making wise decisions,” he said. “When they’re making decisions on safety they’re really making them backwards.”
The problem with these rural roads, which “are mainly two-lane narrow roads,” is that their conditions are not always optimal and people are more likely to speed, Lucy said.
As one of Virginia’s small cities, Charlottesville is the sixth safest jurisdiction in the commonwealth, tied with Falls Church and Arlington when compared to the other cities and counties in Virginia, Lucy said.
Though Charlottesville is one of the safest jurisdictions in the commonwealth, Lucy said there tend to be more non-fatal accidents in urban areas like Charlottesville. The dangers of some students’ long commutes to and from the University at the beginning and ends of breaks “sort of matches up with the common belief that more traffic leads to more accidents,” Lucy said, noting that near Charlottesville, rather than on an interstate road, is where accidents are more likely to occur.
“Interstate highways are where the speeds are highest [but] it is not where there are the most deaths,” he said. Lucy noted this is probably because there is a wide shoulder on the interstate, there are not many 90-degree turns, and there are no left turns.
According to Lucy, fatal accidents in rural areas are the result of the combination of narrow roads, high speeds and drivers going faster than they would on city or suburban streets. These are the same concerns that contribute to the level of danger in outer suburban areas, Lucy said, noting that the study’s results show that 30 percent of traffic fatalities are single-vehicle accidents, which he said often result from driving mistakes on these narrow roads and from speeding.
“It is remarkable how consistent the 30 percent has been over the past three decades,” he said.
Melanie Stokes, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles public and media relations manager, agreed with Lucy’s conclusions about these narrow roads, adding that “more fatalities are occurring on our two-lane highways and two-lane divided highways versus interstate highways.”
Drivers on two-lane highways are more likely to be making longer regular commutes, Lucy said. “There are more people going farther from home for other activities” in rural areas than in urban ones, he added.
“People are driving farther,” Lucy said. “I think they’re in risky situations more often, so traffic situations have not gone down.”
Lucy attributed the longer car rides to urban sprawl, a phenomenon in which suburbs are expanding outwards to accommodate population growth.
Traffic safety, in fact, may be playing a role in this expansion. In recent real estate surveys, Lucy found that safety is considered one of the most important factors when buying a home, because people usually assume the outer suburbs are safer than the city or inner suburbs.
Lucy said he hopes people will take his research into account when making long-term decisions, including where they should live. He also explained that his research implies a need for change in personal behavior while driving, such as driving more slowly and cautiously on two-lane roads.
Stokes agreed, saying the most dangerous aspect of traveling is driver behavior.
“People need to make sure they’re buckled up, share the road with other vehicles, drive drug- and alcohol-free” and limit other distractions in order to drive safely, Stokes said.
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