State officials: Drivers in Virginia traffic being more careful

Virginia is poised to set a record low for traffic fatalities in more than 40 years of tracking highway deaths.

The number of traffic deaths stood yesterday at 803 -- 218 fewer than a year ago -- with less than 48 hours left in 2008, according to Virginia State Police.

Virginia has been tracking highway fatalities since 1966. Until this year, the lowest number of deaths in a year was 839, set in 1992.

The decline in fatalities mirrors a national trend that suggests people are driving less because of high gasoline prices earlier this year and a deepening economic recession in the fall.

But state officials say that isn't the whole story, or even the biggest part.

"I think we're seeing some cultural change, some behavior change," said John Saunders, director of the Virginia Highway Safety Office. "People are slowing down."

Why drivers are slowing down is another question, with answers ranging from better fuel economy to relentless driver education and increased highway patrols.

"We hope that increased enforcement is part of it -- that's what we target," said Saunders, whose office is part of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

One reason for the overall decline is a drop in motorcycle-related deaths, which contributed to a surge of almost 7 percent in the number of fatalities in 2007. So far this year, 76 people have died in motorcycle wrecks compared with 126 last year, which would be a 39-percent decrease.

The total number of traffic fatalities is down almost 22 percent from last year, though state officials caution that the year isn't over and, even then, the numbers aren't final because people injured this year may die in 2009.

"We don't have anything confirmed until at least 30 days into the new year," said Corinne Geller, a state police spokeswoman.

The state is especially eager not to repeat last New Year's holiday, when 14 people died in a five-day period, or the previous New Year's, when 13 people died.

State police and highway safety officials believe their educational efforts have helped decrease deaths. This year, the state launched a "Highway Safety Challenge" that focused on increasing the use of seat belts, combating driving while impaired with drugs or alcohol, obeying speed limits, avoiding distractions while driving, and sharing the road with others.

For example, the percentage of people using seat belts rose to its highest level, 80.6 percent this year, from 79.9 percent in 2007, according to a DMV survey.

Local and state law-enforcement agencies also raised their profiles with increased patrols on interstate highways, as well as shared checkpoints to catch drunken or drug-impaired drivers. Tonight, for example, state police will be setting up checkpoints with local law-enforcement agencies around the Richmond region.

Ultimately, however, even law-enforcement officials say the answer rests with drivers themselves.

"Educational safety messages, as well as strict and aggressive enforcement by local and state police likely contributed to the reduced number of fatalities," said Sgt. Tom Cunningham, a state police spokesman for the Richmond division.

"It's not until we can get the cooperation of every motorist to drive more responsibly and less aggressively that we will be able to keep these numbers at a minimum."

And that's where high gasoline prices and an economic recession may have helped.

Hard economic times tend to affect people's psychology and behavior, said William Lucy, a professor of urban and environmental planning at the University of Virginia. They tend to act more cautiously in what they buy, whether they move, and how they regard their jobs, he said.

"Maybe [they're] more cautious about driving," said Lucy, who's been tracking traffic data for 15 years.

High gasoline prices appeared to contribute to fewer fatalities in spring and early summer. Nationally, traffic fatalities declined almost 10 percent in the first 10 months of the year, according to a study this month that also showed a decrease of 3.5 percent in the number of vehicle miles traveled for the first nine months of 2008.

"We definitely saw traffic scale back," Geller said.

While gasoline prices dropped dramatically later in the year, so did the nation's economy.

During the worst three months of the economic meltdown -- September through November -- there were 100 fewer traffic deaths in Virginia than the previous year. "Normally, we see a surge," said Geller, who cited students returning to school as well as two major travel holidays -- Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

Saunders, at DMV, thinks the economic argument may be overstated. He estimates a decline of about 3 percent this year in the number of vehicle miles traveled.

"I think [the economy] has a little to do with it," he said, "but I don't think that's all."

Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or .