Why you’ll see more police on Virginia roads this weekend

RICHMOND, Va. — The Memorial Day vacation weekend would be the busiest since earlier than the pandemic began over two years in the past, in accordance with AAA Mid-Atlantic.

That’s the reason the company is partnering with native legislation enforcement, state police and Virginia’s Division of Motor Automobiles (DMV) to concern a warning to drivers to buckle up as a part of the annual Click on It or Ticket marketing campaign.

DMV Director of Freeway Security John Saunders referred to as the variety of deaths on Virginia highways final 12 months “unacceptable.”

“Final 12 months 969 folks died on Virginia, the very best variety of deaths in 14 years,” Saunders mentioned.

Saunders mentioned that at the very least a 3rd of these deaths might need been prevented with the right use of a seat belt.

In reality, considered one of each two car fatalities (48%) concerned folks not carrying security restraints, officers mentioned. The 21-to-35 age group accounted for 32% of the unrestrained fatalities, and the very best variety of unrestrained fatalities (51%) occurred between 6 p.m. and three a.m.

Officers additionally identified that teen crashes spike dramatically in the summertime. Dad and mom will be the perfect line of protection in serving to younger drivers navigate the roads. That begins by ensuring they see you buckle your seat belt each time you get within the automotive.

And the numbers for preventable deaths may very well be even increased for kids in automotive seats.

“It might probably make an enormous distinction,” Corri Miller-Hobbs with Secure Children Virginia mentioned. “Having a automotive seat, utilizing it accurately can scale back threat or harm and loss of life by 71%, so that’s vital.”

Virginia’s seat belt use charge is 81.7%, in accordance with the newest statewide seat belt survey performed in 2021. That’s in comparison with the nationwide common of 89.7%.

“Buckling up is among the many most vital issues you are able to do to guard your self and others in a car,” AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Morgan Dean mentioned. “Fashionable vehicles are loaded with security options that weren’t obtainable only a few years in the past. These methods work along side a seat belt. That’s why it’s so vital to buckle up, everybody, each time.”

AAA Mid-Atlantic expects Virginia roads to be the busiest within the final two years with roughly a million Virginians touring by automotive over the vacation weekend.

In consequence, legislation enforcement will conduct “saturation patrols and high-visibility enforcement” alongside busy roads and highways, and particularly alongside the Route 60 hall, in an effort “to avoid wasting lives,” DMV officers mentioned.