News Headlines

June 17, 2013
Roanoke Co. Police: Click It Or Ticket campaign working

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,300 lives could be saved each year if people had worn their seat belts. It's why law enforcement agencies across the country participate in the "Click It or Ticket" campaign -- including Roanoke County.

The agency just wrapped up its most recent enforcement period which ran from May 20 - June 2. During that two-week span, they increased patrols, ran checkpoints, and targeted specific areas with heavy traffic. They also ran a public education campaign to raise awareness about the importance of seatbelts and the dire consequences for not wearing one. Read more...

June 7, 2013
Prince William County Police Issue 1,522 Tickets During May "Click It or Ticket" Campaign

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Police issued 1,522 traffic summonses during this year’s “Click It or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement campaign, which ran May 20th to June 2nd. The largest numbers of tickets in any given category were issued for speeding, followed by reckless driving and seatbelt violations. Read more...

"Op Border to Border" — Va. State Police Participating in 6-State Enforcement Op to Reduce Crashes on 790+ Miles of US Route 151

Virginia State Police and five other state police and highway patrol agencies this weekend will engage in Operation Border to Border, a coordinated traffic safety enforcement initiative targeting approximately 791 miles of U.S. Route 15, which originates in Waterboro, S.C., and ends in Corning, N.Y. The corridor is a heavily-traveled thoroughfare for summer vacationers and for those attempting to avoid congested interstates serving all six states. Read more...

May 30, 2013
Tougher Laws on DWI, Distracted Driving Take Effect July 1

RICHMOND – New laws taking effect July 1, 2013 take a tougher stance on drinking and driving and driving while distracted. Under current law, a conviction of driving while intoxicated (DWI) is not considered a felony unless it is the third DWI conviction within 10 years. Effective July 1, any DWI conviction will be a felony if a person has a prior conviction of any of the following... Read more

May 28, 2013
VSP Report Seven Traffic-Related Deaths on Virginia's Highways Over Memorial Day Weekend

According to preliminary reports, Virginia experienced its first significant decline in Memorial Day weekend traffic deaths in several years. Not since 2009, have fatalities been in the single-digits for the four-day statistical counting period for the holiday weekend. From 12:01 a.m. Friday (May 24, 2013) through midnight Monday (May 27, 2013), preliminary numbers indicate seven people lost their lives in traffic deaths on Virginia’s highways. Read more...

Tractor trailer drivers in New Kent put 'Phone Down, Just Drive'

New Kent County, Virginia – DRIVE SMART Virginia and the New Kent County Sheriff’s Office have just completed phase two of Phone Down. Just Drive an education and enforcement project geared toward reducing the number of distracted truck and bus drivers on Interstate 64 in New Kent County, VA. Preliminary results show fewer than 5% of truck drivers are using a hand held phone while driving. Read more...

Police: U.S. 460 checkpoint death 'suspicious'
Details scarce, but police sergeant says 'external situations' may have contributed to crash

Police are treating the death of a Barboursville man who crashed Friday at a sobriety checkpoint on U.S. 460 as "suspicious."

Emerson Evans, 25, was driving a 1997 Honda CRV near the Campbell County/Bedford County line when he struck the rear of a Ford F-150 truck, police said.

Virginia State Police First Sgt. Michael Bailey said Tuesday that Evans was driving about 50 mph at the time. Read more...

May 17, 2013
Glen Allen High School wins ‘Arrive Alive’ contest

Glen Allen High School students will receive a day with the UNITE International Texting Simulator on May 21, after a group of students from the school won the 2013 “Arrive Alive PSA Contest,” sponsored by Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety (YOVASO), UNITE International, and the Virginia State Police Association (VSPA). Read more...

May 16, 2013
Checkpoint Kicks Off 'Click It or Ticket' Seat Belt Campaign

Lynchburg, VA – Police from all over Central Virginia come together for a traffic safety checkpoint.

The checkpoint Thursday afternoon at the Monacan Bridge kicked off the annual Click it or Ticket campaign. Law enforcement officers from Lynchburg, Campbell County, Amherst County, Bedford County, Bedford City, and State Police participated. The event is sponsored by the Central Virginia Highway Traffic Safety Board.

Nearly 650 cars passed through during the two hours of the checkpoint. Twelve tickets were written; eight for overdue inspections, one for an expired registration, one for defective equipment, and two were written to people driving without a license.

People were given warnings if they were not wearing their seatbelts. When the enforcement phase of the campaign begins next week, you will get a ticket if you are pulled over and aren't buckled up. WATCH VIDEO

April 24, 2013
New Study: Motorcyclist Deaths Spike in 2012
Approximately 5,000 Motorcyclist Fatalities Projected

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a new report released today, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is projecting that motorcyclist deaths increased approximately 9 percent in 2012, to more than 5,000 lives lost. This is greater than the overall traffic fatality increase projected by the federal government and would be the 14th out of the last 15 years in which motorcyclist deaths increased. Notably, this level of deaths closes in on an all-time high, and motorcyclists remain one of the few roadway user groups where no progress can be shown over the last decade. Read more

Henrico Police & Richmond International Raceway Release Safe Driving PSA (VIDEO)
" Before you start your engines, designate a sober driver if you plan on consuming alcohol. Henrico Police & RIR want you to see the checkered flag, NOT blue lights!" Watch now

April 22, 2013
Fairfax Co. Police Send a Reminder: 50 MEANS 50
The Traffic Division of the Fairfax Co. PD will launch their weeklong initiative “50 Means 50” as they saturate the Fairfax County Parkway this week. The annual campaign kicked off on Sunday, April 21, and targets aggressive and reckless driving, speeding, texting while driving, following too closely, and failure to pay full time and attention on the Fairfax County Parkway. Read more

April 11, 2013
Instructions for Looking Up Special License Plates
Recently, there have been some questions about how to make a VCIN inquiry on special license plates. Although you generally enter license plate numbers as the numbers appear on the license plate of passenger cars, not all license plates can be queried this way. Read more

April 1, 2013
Campaign targets distracted truck drivers in New Kent County
NEW KENT — Truck and bus drivers be warned: you had better think twice if you are holding your cell phone while driving in New Kent, Virginia. DRIVE SMART Virginia, in partnership with the New Kent County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), will be conducting a distracted driving education and enforcement campaign this spring. Beginning April 8, truck and bus drivers traveling along Interstate 64 in New Kent County will come across a serious message: Phone Down. Just Drive. Read more

March 29, 2013
Rural motorists in Virginia found to lag in seat belt usage
RICHMOND-Motor vehicle drivers and passengers in rural Virginia are less likely to wear seat belts than those in other parts of the state, according to a statewide survey. They also are at greater risk of dying in traffic accidents, according to an analysis of state data by The Roanoke Times. Read more

Man convicted of driving 95 mph with six kids while high on heroin
HOPEWELL — When Hopewell sheriff’s Deputy Sean Godwin stopped Isaiah Hall last spring for speeding 95 mph on Interstate 295, he was surprised to see six children and another adult packed inside Hall’s van — none of them wearing safety belts or restrained in child seats.

The youngsters, as it turned out, were Hall’s grandchildren, ages 4, 6, 9, 12, 13 and 15. The family, which included Hall’s adult daughter, was returning to East Orange, N.J., after attending a funeral in North Carolina.

“No one had on a seat belt and there were two children who should have had been restrained in booster seats by Virginia law,” said Hopewell prosecutor Elisabeth Custalow. Read more

March 15, 2013
Henrico sets effort to curb teen drinking
‘Zero tolerance’ policyfor violators part of plan

In an effort to save the lives and preserve the health of our children, Chief Douglas A. Middleton, Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor and Dr. Pat Russo, Superintendent of Schools, have agreed to follow a zero tolerance policy for underage drinking. As a result, the Henrico County Police Division will take a zero tolerance approach to its underage drinking enforcement efforts. Read more

February 24-26, 2013
Making It Click – A Roanoke Times Special Report
Nearly 82 percent in Virginia, on average, buckle up. But the message isn’t getting through to everyone, especially in rural Virginia, where in some communities up to three-fourths of traffic fatalities involved unbelted drivers or passengers.

The Roanoke Times/roanoke.com in a special report has explored why the disparities exist. They also retrace failed efforts to strengthen Virginia’s seat belt law and look at new initiatives to educate young drivers. Read more

February 19, 2013
Texting while driving bill heads to Governor's desk where it faces uncertain fate
Legislation that would make texting while driving a primary offense and dramatically increase the fines for violators cleared the Senate today and now heads to Gov. Bob McDonnell for consideration.

"The governor will review this legislation when we receive it," said McDonnell spokesman J. Tucker Martin. "However, he does continue to have concerns about beginning to list more specific activities that are prohibited while driving." Read more

February 16, 2013
Beefed-up texting ban advances to uncertain fate

RICHMOND - The General Assembly has a message for drivers: Keep your hands on the wheel and off your smartphone's keyboard That was again conveyed Friday when a Senate committee advanced compromise legislation to make fines for texting while driving more expensive and allow police to stop a driver for the offense. Safe driving advocates maintain that texting while driving is one of the more dangerous forms of distracted driving.

A spokesman for the governor said McDonnell will review the legislation when he receives it, noting he has some misgivings about the concept. Read more

February 14, 2013
Transportation Safety Awards Recognize Crash Reduction Efforts
Applications Due March 15, 2013

RICHMOND - The outstanding efforts made by individuals and organizations to change the behaviors of Virginia’s motorists leading to crash, injury and fatality reduction, may be nominated for the 2013 Virginia Governor’s Transportation Safety Awards. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ Highway Safety Office is accepting nominations through March 15, 2013 for 13 different transportation safety categories. Read more

February 11, 2013
Deadly wrecks in Central Virginia put focus on need to buckle up
Last year, car wrecks left empty desks at schools throughout the region. Hardest hit was Bedford County, where 21 people died. ... From 2008 to 2012 in Virginia, more people died in wrecks in which they weren’t wearing a seat belt than died in crashes involving alcohol or speeding. During those five years, 1,623 unrestrained drivers and passengers died in the commonwealth. Read more

November 20, 2012
Slow Down This Thanksgiving Holiday and Save Lives
VDOT Installs Additional “Move Over” Signs Across the State
RICHMOND – As the volume of traffic increases on Virginia’s highways for the Thanksgiving weekend, so will the number of Virginia State Police troopers on the road. State police will enhance its visibility and traffic enforcement efforts as part of Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort). The program is intended to reduce crashes, fatalities and injuries caused by speeding, impaired driving and failure to use occupant restraints. Extra patrols willincrease throughout the Commonwealth beginning Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012, at 12:01 a.m. through midnight, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. Read more

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