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Traffic Fatalities Decline Over the July 4th Holiday
Four passenger vehicle fatalities, one motorcycle fatality; no seat belts worn in three passenger vehicle deaths

RICHMOND – During the July 4 holiday, traffic fatalities declined once again across Virginia. Of the 743 traffic crashes that state police responded to during the four-day statistical counting period, preliminary reports indicate that five of the crashes resulted in five deaths. In 2009, nine people were killed over a three-day holiday weekend.* The last time the Commonwealth experienced a significant drop in fatal traffic collisions during the Independence holiday weekend was in 2002 when two individuals lost their lives in the Commonwealth.

The five fatal crashes occurred in the city of Suffolk and the counties of Accomack, Fairfax, Nottoway and Rockingham. Three of the crashes occurred on Monday, July 5, 2010. Read more

With Millions of Families Preparing to Hit the Road this Summer, Survey Finds Dangerous Gaps in Parents’ Knowledge of Car Seat Safety
Most parents rank safety as their top consideration when buying a car seat for their child, yet the majority of them don’t know how long their child should ride in it or the best place to install it, according to a recent survey by AAA and Dorel Juvenile Group.

AAA recommends that any child up to age 8 or 4 feet 9 inches tall should be secured in a child safety seat or booster seat. However, only about one in four (26%) survey respondents could identify proper child safety seat age and height recommendations. Additionally, less than half of parents surveyed (44%) knew the safest position for a single car seat was the center of the rear seat. Read more

AAA Calls for 10% of All Transportation Dollars to Be Spent on Safety
Organization Issues Statement on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act

AAA calls for at least 10 percent of all transportation investment to be spent on safety (currently we devote less than 4% to safety) to fund better data collection systems, road improvements and use of evidence-based strategies to change the culture of complacency about transportation safety. We need to ensure that legislation and regulation result in funding for the countermeasures that have the greatest impact on saving lives, and reducing crashes. Read more

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