Roadway fatalities in Virginia spike as traffic enforcement declines, report says
More speeding drivers and “less proactive” police enforcement have helped to drive a nearly 20% increase in statewide traffic crash fatalities on Virginia’s roadways over six years, a state report says.
The Virginia State Crime Commission — which analyzed six years of state car crash data — said there were 1,005 crash fatalities on the Old Dominion’s roadways in 2022, up from 843 in 2017.
More than 5,300 people in Virginia — including about 680 in Hampton Roads — were killed in car crashes during that stretch, the report says. That included people who died in cars and trucks as well as those struck while walking or riding bicycles.
The increase in roadway deaths, the state report said, is a result of “an escalation in risky driving behaviors,” such as speeding, impaired driving and failing to wear a seat belt. Larger and heavier vehicles also likely played a role, the report said.
The 19% jump in fatalities came despite a 4% reduction in total car crashes in Virginia over the same six-year period, the report shows.
Speed was a factor in nearly half — or 44% — of the state’s roadway fatalities, while alcohol was a factor in just over a quarter of them. More than a third of those killed — or 37% — were not wearing seat belts.
Virginia saw a 19% increase in roadway deaths as police and sheriff’s deputies throughout the state have sharply cut back on the number of speeding tickets they handed out.
“While Virginia has a number of laws meant to promote roadway safety, the enforcement of many of these laws has been significantly decreasing in recent years,” the report said.
In 2022, for example, there were 171,000 speeding tickets issued statewide for people accused of going up to 19 miles over the limit. That was down by 37% — or more than 100,000 tickets — from just over 274,000 such tickets in 2017.
Tickets for reckless driving by speed — going at least 20 miles an hour over the limit — also fell sharply, the numbers show. Police and sheriff’s offices handed out more than 54,000 such tickets in 2022 — a 45% drop from the more than 99,000 they handed out five years earlier.
Charges brought for failing to wear a seat belt have also dropped sharply — to about 21,000 such tickets statewide in 2022 from nearly 39,000 in 2017. That’s a reduction of 46%.
Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said the manpower shortage at the state’s police departments are real — and it affects basic public safety.
“We just don’t have as many people out there on the road that we need to have,” she said. “It’s a big concern.”
Police manpower shortages, she said, began across the country with retention and recruitment issues following the George Floyd protests in 2020. “They didn’t feel like they had the respect of the public anymore,” she said.
It’s been a struggle in many departments ever since, Schrad said. Moreover, she said, there’s there’s been “a hesitation” by some departments to do the high visibility traffic stops that once were routine.
“We’ve been trying to restore that positive relationship with our communities,” she said. “To make sure people understand that when you pull somebody over for a traffic violation, you’re doing it not only in their best interest, but in the interest of other people on the road.”
The Virginia State Crime Commission is a 13-member state board that includes six members of the House of Delegates, three members of the state Senate, three citizens appointed by the governor, and a representative of the state attorney general’s office.
Among other things, the commission advises the General Assembly on possible changes “that could be adopted in Virginia to promote roadway safety.”
Commission staff first publicly presented the results of their car crash research at a meeting in November. But the commission completed the study this year — and first published it online on June 30 as part of the board’s annual report to the governor and General Assembly.
To reduce traffic crash fatalities, the report said, Virginia could expand remote speed monitoring and make it a primary offense not to wear a seat belt — which means someone could be pulled over for that alone. States where it’s a primary offense, the report said, report more seat belt usage and fewer fatalities.
The commission said the state could also boost technology for determining whether someone is impaired by drugs. It can bar all headphone use while driving. And it can create a new criminal charge for injuring someone by reckless driving.
The study — performed in 2023 at the request of the General Assembly — included examining Virginia Department of Transportation car crash data, examining traffic laws and talking with various stakeholders.
The report found that there were nearly 734,000 traffic crashes — and more than 5,300 roadway fatalities — in Virginia between 2017 and 2022.
More than 85% of the fatal collisions were on non-interstate roadways, and more than half — or 54% — were single-vehicle accidents. About 71% of those who died on the roads were male.
A significant number of pedestrians were struck and killed by cars in Virginia. They accounted for 771 of the fatalities over the six years — or about 15% of the total. Their numbers spiked sharply to 171 deaths in 2022, up 50% from five years earlier.
About a third of the pedestrians killed were above legal limits for intoxication, the report shows. Those between 50 to 69 were more likely than other age groups to be killed while walking, with most pedestrian fatalities occurring at night.
Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, [email protected]
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings