Federal Funds Aimed at Reducing 'Preventable' Deaths on Va. Roads

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) announced this month that $17 million in federal grants is going to localities, state agencies, schools and nonprofit groups working to reduce traffic crashes across the state.

As a result, drivers might notice that efforts such as "Click It or Ticket" and "Checkpoint Strikeforce," which targets drunk drivers, are in full force. The funds are being used to support programs to deter aggressive driving, promote the use of seat belts and child safety seats and to help teenage and senior drivers stay safe.

"Though traffic fatalities in Virginia are down over last year, we are still experiencing an unacceptably high number of preventable deaths on our roadways," Kaine said in a statement. "These programs are proving successful at reducing our highway fatalities and encouraging safe driving habits, and I am happy they will be getting federal support."

In Northern Virginia, $112,000 is going to Fairfax County, $90,000 to Prince William County, nearly $49,000 to Loudoun County and Leesburg and $42,000 to Alexandria. Statewide, more than $5 million is going to localities; $7.5 million is going to state agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles; and the remainder is going to nonprofit organizations and higher education.

State officials said stepped-up enforcement and safety campaigns have made a difference. Last year, 821 people died on Virginia's roadways, the lowest number since 1966, state officials said. This year, the state is on track for fewer fatalities. As of the end of July, there were 13 percent fewer traffic fatalities than during the same period last year.

Bryan E. Porter, an Old Dominion University professor who specializes in traffic safety, including seat-belt use and aggressive driving, said efforts such as "Click It or Ticket" are part of the reason the state's roads are getting safer.

"It's a combination of higher seat-belt use, better technology in the cars, probably better roads and possibly people slowing down to conserve gas," Porter said. "Wearing a safety belt is the easiest thing a passenger or driver can do to increase their odds of surviving a crash."

About $197,000 of the grant funding will go to support an Old Dominion University research effort to identify portions of the state, typically rural areas, where many drivers don't use seat belts, Porter said. He said the university works with officials on awareness campaigns and enforcement in those areas.

"We still, as a nation and in Virginia, have 15 to 20 percent of the public not belted," Porter said.

Other higher education institutions are receiving funding for a host of projects, including those aimed at improving crash investigation and encouraging tweens to buckle up. In addition, several non-profit groups, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Motorcycle Safety League and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, also were given grant funding.

"We cannot become complacent," DMV Commissioner D.B. Smit said in a statement. "We must not lose sight of the fact that according to the latest data, a crash occurs on our roadways every 4.3 minutes resulting in more than two lives being lost and 184 people being injured every day in Virginia."