|
- |
By KELLY HANNON
It's possible that record-setting gas prices have one public health benefit--fewer traffic fatalities in Virginia.
Statewide, the number of traffic deaths has fallen by about 100 people.
Through yesterday, 504 people had died in vehicle crashes in Virginia, compared with 610 people on the same date in 2007.
Fatal vehicle crashes in the Fredericksburg area have also declined.
By early August, 39 people had died on Fredericksburg-area roads, compared with 48 victims the previous year.
Caroline County had the most pronounced change. In 2007, seven people had died in fatal crashes by mid-summer. This year, there was only one fatality.
There may be a simple explanation--people are driving less.
Americans drove 53.2 billion fewer miles from November to June, compared with the same months in 2006 and 2007, according to the Federal Highway Administration, which released the numbers Wednesday.
That's the largest driving decline in U.S. history, surpassing the 49.3 billion mile decrease during the 1970s oil crisis. Highway fatalities have decreased nationwide so far this year, the National Safety Council reported.
Rural travel fell the furthest, dropping 4 percent. Travel in urban areas dropped 1.2 percent, the federal agency reported.
At the same time, public transit ridership has risen to a 50-year high. Americans took 2.6 billion trips on public transportation during the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 88 billion trips from the first three months of 2007, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
But no one can definitively conclude that fewer miles driven equals fewer deaths.
"I wish I had one common denominator, but there's so many factors that go into fatalities and traffic crashes overall," said Corinne Geller, Virginia State Police spokeswoman in Richmond. "Last year was a record year, unfortunately, in Virginia."
More than 1,000 people died in vehicle crashes in 2007. It was the largest number of victims in the state since 1990.
EMPHASIZING SAFETY
In response, state police created the Highway Safety Challenge. With help from the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, they ask drivers to do five things:
Drive the speed limit.
Buckle up.
Limit distractions.
Don't drive while impaired.
Share the road with other vehicles, including bicycles.
Geller said the campaign, paired with stepped-up police enforcement on major interstates through Operation Air, Land & Speed, is driving the decline, along with reduced travel.
And the current number of deaths, 504, is close to the 2006 rate of traffic fatalities in Virginia.
So it's more of a return to the annual average, rather than a marked decline.
Geller cautioned that less traffic can be more dangerous for travelers, because people drive faster on an open highway. Few people die in gridlock, she said.
Also, bicycle and pedestrian fatalities have increased slightly in 2008. So far, 10 bicyclists have died this year. During the same months in 2007, 7 bicyclists died. This year, 47 pedestrians have died, compared with 43 pedestrians from January to mid-August in 2007.
Motorcyclist deaths have declined, from 69 deaths between January and mid-August in 2007, to 50 deaths so far in 2008.
INTERSTATE FATALITIES
In cities and counties, fatalities can rise and fall depending on the number of vehicle crashes with multiple victims, said 1st Sgt. B.K. Jacobs, traffic safety division supervisor of the Stafford Sheriff's Office.
Also, any county with a major interstate running through it has greater potential for victims because of the increased traffic flow.
"I-95 is potentially a dangerous road if people do not obey the posted speed limit, and often on I-95 they are not," Jacobs said.
Stafford is reporting 10 traffic fatalities so far this year. DMV is reporting 11 victims. All 2008 crash numbers are preliminary.
"Stafford is a growing community," Jacobs said. "Yearly, we add about 3,000 more licensed drivers to our community, and when you take that amount of people and you add them to the roads that are already packed with commuters, our fatality rate is going to increase."
Three of the deaths in Stafford occurred near work zones on I-95.
Stafford, VDOT and state police are forming a work-zone task force to consider whether signs and warning procedures are sufficient for today's motorists, Jacobs said. "Does anything need to be changed?"
No one is celebrating this year's numbers at public safety agencies. To them, each death is a lost child, teenager, parent or spouse.
"We've lost almost 500 people to traffic crashes," Geller said. "What would happen if we lost 500 people to homicide or 500 people in a plane crash in Virginia? There would be an outcry."
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
