If the 2007 traffic death trend continues at its current pace, more than 1,000 people will die on Virginia’s roads by the year’s end.

Last year, the Thanksgiving week was only second to the July 4th holiday in fatalities, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

By taking part in the Highway Safety Challenge, officials from the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Virginia State Police and the Department of Motor Vehicles hope to reduce the number of fatalities by 100 in three years.

Recommended practices include:

• Wearing seat belts



• Avoiding distractions, such as talking on the cell phone, eating and reading while driving



• Sharing the road with cyclists, motorcycles, pedestrians and trucks



• Never drinking and driving



• Obeying posted speed limits

The last time the fatality level passed 1,000 was 1990.

Traffic deaths reached their highest level - 1,256 - in 1972.

The Highway Safety Challenge aims to reduce these numbers by changing driver behavior with the three Es:

• Engineering
• Enforcement
• Education

Did you know:

• Lack of seat belt use contributes to more fatalities than any other safety-related driving behavior?



• Wearing a seat belt can reduce your risk of dying in a motor vehicle crash by 45 percent in a car, and by as much as 60 percent in a truck or sports utility vehicle?



• Each year, approximately 38 percent of vehicle-crash deaths involve alcohol?



• Motor vehicle crashes affect people ages four to 34 more than any disease or crime?

For more information, visit SafeVAhighways.org.

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Page last modified: Nov. 28, 2007