With Virginia traffic deaths up, VSP issues Thanksgiving weekend challenge to drivers

RICHMOND – Nine persons ranging in age of 19 years to 85 years old died this past week in a traffic crash on a Virginia highway. Of those nine persons, only the 19-year-old Chesterfield County male was wearing a seat belt. With travel forecasts calling for a record volume of Thanksgiving week traffic, the Virginia State Police are issuing a challenge to all drivers and passengers – Drive to Save Lives.

During the 2014 Thanksgiving holiday counting period, eight fatal traffic crashes claimed eight lives. That was Virginia’s lowest death toll for a Thanksgiving weekend in over a decade. But, with current reports showing the 2015 fatality rate for Virginia at 652 lives lost compared to 633 this time last year*, state police are very concerned about the safety of the Commonwealth’s highways. To counter the increase in traffic crashes and fatalities caused by speeding, impaired driving and failure to use occupant restraints, state police will once again be participating in the Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort (C.A.R.E.), a state-sponsored, national program.

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