Hondas top theft rankings

May 1, 2006 12:50 am

THE EVERYDAY Honda Accord, circa 1996, was the car most likely to be stolen in Virginia last year.

Its utilitarian sibling, the 1994 Honda Civic, was the second-most-stolen car during 2005.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau studies vehicle theft rates, and computes an annual Top 10 list for each state.

There are no luxury cars on Virginia's list.

Instead, the most-stolen cars were typically domestic ones sold in large numbers. Third-most-stolen was the 1990 Toyota Camry. Next, in descending order: 1994 Dodge Caravan, 1996 Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee, 1997 Ford Taurus, 1994 Plymouth Voyager, 1997 Ford Explorer, 2003 Toyota Corolla, 1994 Ford Taurus, 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier and 2004 Ford F150 series.

QThe end of Mountain View Road in Stafford, off U.S. 1, is poorly marked. It looks like it keeps going, right up until a driver reaches the dead end. There are no reflectors on the guardrail. You can see skid marks everywhere.

My 17-year-old daughter was severely injured after the minivan she was riding in slammed into the dead end's guardrail. She lost five front teeth and her jaw was dislocated.

I'm afraid that somebody else is going to go around the corner speeding and end up in worse shape than she is.

--Jeanie Stallard, Stafford

AThere are "No Outlet" signs posted at both ends of Mountain View Road, said Eddie Buckle, a VDOT transportation operations manager.

However, after speaking with traffic engineers, Buckle said VDOT has decided to install reflectors on the guardrail.

"When oncoming traffic sees it, hopefully if they're going the posted speed limit they should have more than enough time to stop," Buckle said.

QAre there any plans to put in a traffic light at the intersection of Gordon and Chancellor roads in Spotsylvania? There have been numerous accidents due to motorist attempts to make a left turn from Chancellor to Gordon. An extra traffic lane was added on Gordon to allow traffic to flow while motorists turn left onto Chancellor, but this has made it even more dangerous for drivers turning left from Chancellor onto Gordon.

--Michelle Turner, Spotsylvania

AGood news--a traffic signal is planned for that spot.

The Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors recently awarded a contract to design the signal, a process that will take eight to 10 months, said Dan Cole, county traffic engineer.

Building the traffic signal will take another eight to 10 months, Cole said. So expect to see a finished signal in 16 to 20 months.

QThere's a missing yield sign at the intersection of U.S. 1 and U.S. 17 in Spotsylvania. Traffic turning right onto U.S. 17 from northbound U.S. 1 is supposed to yield to traffic that has just turned onto U.S. 17, but the yield sign has recently been removed. The result is that traffic turning onto U.S. 17 from U.S. 1 doesn't yield, but pulls out right in front of traffic that has turned. This is causing numerous near misses, including one affecting us. Why was the yield sign removed and would it be possible for the county to put the sign back up?

--Michelle Gibson, Spotsylvania

AThe yield sign was removed by a contractor doing construction near this intersection, said Eddie Buckle, VDOT transportation operations manager. Your question alerted VDOT to its absence. Buckle said VDOT has told the contractor to put the yield sign back up.

KELLY HANNON is The Free Lance-Star's transportation reporter. If you have transportation-related questions, write to Getting There, c/o The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; or browse fredericksburg .com and fill out the Getting There form.