CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston is hinting at new initiatives to be introduced in the months to come that will focus on driving behaviors and training state residents years before they get behind a wheel.

“These are going to be dealing with–we call them–the behavioral issues, the way we operate our vehicles on the highway. That’s the critical part of this,” Wriston said during a recent edition of the WVDOT’s “On the DOT” podcast.

Wriston said there have been good initiatives over the years backed by the Governor’s Highway Safety Fund and various police agencies who have spent extra time trying to slow drivers down but it’s time for a culture change when it comes to driving.

“We have to start young. We have to build the education up on how to drive, that’s all there is to it. How you do this and not get killed,” he said.

MORE 2023 Governor’s Highway Safety Program Annual Report 

According the 2023 Governor’s Highway Safety Program Annual Report, there were 207 traffic fatalities in West Virginia after nine months of last year. The state ended the 2022 colander year at 266 fatalities. Motorcycle fatalities were also up according to the latest annual report.

The report also said, “Pedestrian fatalities are a growing concern in West Virginia. These fatalities decreased from 36 to 21 between 2021 and 2022, but the five-year rolling average exceeded the target.”

The report listed a significant increase in deadly crashes of those not wearing seatbelts from 77 deaths in 2021 to 147 deaths in 2022.

Wriston said it’s time for an all-out effort to address the issue of driving behavior.

“This is serious. A mistake out there on that highway takes a minute and bad things happen quickly but the results of them can last a lifetime,” Wriston said. “We’ve got to really attack this and we’ve got to stay committed to it.”

Wriston predicts results.

“We’ve really focused on safety, particularly in our work zones, now we are committed,” he said. “We’re going to get results. We are going to take fatalities on our roads to zero. We’re going to make sure when accidents happen, when crashes happen, people have a better chance to survive.”