Pedestrian fatalities outpace murders
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| This sign appeared on Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads in 2017. |
More people have been killed trying to walk across Fairfax County roadways than there are victims of murder.
So far this year, there have been 43 pedestrian crashes, eight pedestrian fatalities, and more than 40 pedestrian injuries in Fairfax County. In 2018, there were 174 pedestrian crashes, 16 fatalities, and 196 injuries. Since December 2018, there have been three fatalities from hit and run crashes.
“It’s too much – pedestrian fatalities are outpacing our murder rate in Fairfax County,” said Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. “That is unacceptable.”
There were 11 homicides in Fairfax County in 2018 and three so far in 2019.
Pedestrian and cyclist deaths account for more than 33 percent of all traffic fatalities in the region, mirroring national trends, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
In the Annandale/Mason area, there were fatal pedestrian accidents on Little River Turnpike, Route 50, and Columbia Pike and a hit-and-run incident involving pedestrians on Columbia Pike in 2018 and a pedestrian fatality on Peyton Randolph Drive in 2019.
The Fairfax County Police Department joined other local law enforcement and transportation agencies April 23 to kick off the spring campaign of the Street Smart initiative aimed at reducing pedestrian and cyclist accidents.
The campaign runs through May 13 and coincides with increased enforcement of traffic safety laws. Police officers will be monitoring crosswalks and intersections, providing information and, when necessary, giving warnings and tickets to drivers and pedestrians who break traffic safety laws.
The FCPD is also addressing safety through regular pedestrian and driver education and enforcement outreach efforts, including an effort to get people to use crosswalks.
Under Virginia law, pedestrians do not have the right of way when they are on the curb, the FCPD states. Once a pedestrian enters a crosswalk, however, drivers are required yield. Many drivers don’t know that, so it’s up to pedestrians to be alert to traffic.
The FCPD urges people to wear bright or reflective clothing when walking at night to ensure they can be seen by drivers. Pedestrians and drivers also need to be put their phones down, avoid distractions, and pay attention to their surroundings.
The FCPD has not yet publicly acknowledged an accident involving a police car striking a bicylist on Richmond Highway on April 24, as reported in the Covering the Corridor blog.
UPDATED, 4:24 p.m.: The FCPD says the cyclist was at fault for entering Fordson Road from the sidewalk without stopping and disregarding a pedestrian signal. According to the police, the cyclist hit the police cruiser. Thomas Crawley, 55, of Alexandria, was charged with failing to pay full time and attention.
VDOT doesn't care about the cyclists or pedestrians, they are just interested in moving traffic. We should have electronic speed alert signs on roadways that were never meant to be super highways. More traffic calming devices such as circular islands at intersections, neck downs and speed bumps.
As a cyclist I watch crazy drivers every day. Pedestrian are also to blame for wearing their ear plugs while walking. I have found that cyclists guilty of this too. As commuters: drivers, cyclists and pedestrians we should have all of our senses operating, and not just some. There needs to be bicycle lanes that take commuters to employment centers and not just scattered here and there that don't go anywhere. Pedestrians and cyclists should not be sharing the same paths. As the weather improves, cycle traffic is heavy and competing with zoned out pedestrians, double wide strollers, dog walkers, drivers texting, putting make up on and shaving while they drive; all a recipe for disaster.
Commercials should be broadcast educating all commuters regardless of their means of commuting. Its really simple, people just need to be constantly reminded.
I teach at a local elementary school, and I often see parents walking through the parking lot with their children in tow; they clearly aren't taking the time to teach their children how to cross safely because they themselves don't even bother to look. The ONLY exceptions? My coworkers whose children are enrolled there.
Maybe this should become curriculum for schools and parents alike.
Dear 12:32 PM,
You are 100% correct that VDOT has little to NO interest in walkers, bike riders, joggers, or anything that doesn't move on the road under its own power! Put another way, VDOT does NOT have a directive for either quality of life for people who live near the highways or safety for anyone on foot who walks near the roadways.
Halloween is the spookiest time of year. On October 31, ghouls, goblins, and monsters of all sorts take to the streets for a few tricks and plenty of treats. Families will be out with their children who hope to score big and take home pounds of candy. However, spookier than the vampire making his way down your street is the increase in pedestrian accidents on All Hallows Eve. Even scarier is the fact that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year providing people with the opportunity to have a little too much fun.
An increase in pedestrians alone can mean an increase in the chances of drivers injuring those taking to the streets on foot. Because trick-or-treating typically begins as the sun sets, visibility of a driver and a pedestrian can become poor. Masks create an issue by blocking the vision of those wearing them. Additionally, young adults and teens tend to use Halloween as an opportunity to revel in the excitement that surrounds the holiday and overindulge in alcoholic beverages thereby impairing their abilities to drive. And while it’s fun to judge all the creative and scary costumes that people come up with each year, this can lead to a case of distracted driving. These factors significantly increase the risk of causing serious injury or death to a pedestrian.