As long weekend begins, police urge safe driving

As Richmonders hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday, Virginia police are pleading with motorists to keep vigilant.

Last year during the Wednesday-Sunday span, 12 people died and 863 were injured in 1,407 accidents.

The top three contributing factors were: following a vehicle in front too closely, failure to maintain control and not having the right-of-way.

"Maybe there's kids in the car and a lot of things going on, but the driver has to stay focused," said John Saunders, head of the Department of Motor Vehicles' Virginia Highway Safety Office.

Law-enforcement officers are focused on catching drunken drivers and speeders. Last Thanksgiving holiday, they issued 915 seat-belt citations, 220 child-restraint citations and 12,443 tickets for speeding or reckless driving. They took 188 intoxicated or drugged drivers off the road, according to the Virginia State Police.

For the past two Thanksgiving travel periods, a total of 31 people were killed on the road. Thirty-nine percent of those killed weren't wearing seat belts.

"That's not a number we like," Saunders said.

State police Sgt. Thomas J. Molnar, who has spent 11 years patrolling state roads, recalls one crash vividly.

A family was on the road in a sport utility vehicle. Their 10-year old girl was sleeping in the cargo area without a seat belt or safety restraint. The SUV crashed and flipped over, and the girl was ejected and hit by the vehicle, he said. She died at the scene. Her family in the SUV was unharmed.

Road conditions can change, as in rainy weather, so if conditions are bad, motorists might have to drive even slower, Saunders said.

He also cautioned drivers to slow down or adjust course when approaching an emergency vehicle that is stopped with its lights flashing. Motorists must change lanes away from the vehicle if it is safe to do so, or else they must slow down. Under Virginia's "Move Over" law, violators could get up to a $2,500 fine or 12 months in jail.

In addition, Saunders and Molnar said, the number of motorists driving while distracted or tired is growing -- and causing accidents.

An accident in Richmond that snarled northbound traffic on Interstate 95 last week at Interstate 295 was caused by a tractor-trailer driver who fell asleep at the wheel about 5 a.m., Molnar said. Officials are encouraging people to plan and give themselves plenty of time to travel this Thanksgiving.

"If you're tired, don't push yourself," Molnar said. "Don't work all day Wednesday, then hop in your car and drive for eight hours. Coffee and energy drinks aren't a fix to the problem."

Real-time road conditions can be viewed online at 511Virginia.org.

Contact Chris I. Young at (804) 649-6754 or .