VIRGINIA BEACH — Last year saw an unfortunate trend in traffic fatalities in this city as the overall number increased by just over 20 percent from 2016.
According to the Department of Motor Vehicles Virginia Highway Safety Office Traffic Crash Facts report from 2017, there were 323,973 licensed drivers in the city, down from 330,665 the year before.
There were also fewer crashes in 2017 — 6,741 versus 7,204 the previous year, while the number of injuries from crashes was also down, 3,416 in 2017 compared to 3,720 in 2016.
Despite lower totals in drivers, crashes, and injuries, the number of fatalities in 2017 was 25, up from 19 just a year earlier.
“We experienced a higher number of fatalities across the board from 2016 to 2017,” said Brandy Brubaker, public relations and media liaison with the DMV. “Numbers were up across the state. It’s something we’re looking at and trying to figure out what’s behind this increase in fatalities.”
Although crashes overall were down, crashes caused by distracted driving were up by 18 percent from 2016.
In 2017 Chesapeake recorded 19 fatalities, with 167,736 licensed drivers and 2,377 crashes. Norfolk during the same time period experienced 4,199 crashes and 20 fatalities. That city licensed just 128,199 drivers.
Breaking down the numbers in Virginia Beach, there were 419 crashes that involved alcohol (13 deaths); 827 crashes that involved speed (seven deaths); and 135 crashes involving unrestrained drivers (eight fatalities). Some of the 25 total fatalities count twice in those categories because of more than one factor, for example a death because of both alcohol and speed.
“We always take a look at those crashes and look at why they happened,” Brubaker said, adding they work with state and local police to implement educational and awareness programs intended to address any issues they identify.
She said State Police will be out in force over the Memorial Day holiday weekend focusing on enforcement of seatbelt use.
