Our Mission

More than 900 people are killed on Virginia’s highways each year. That’s an average of nearly 19 per week, or three per day.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Virginia State Police (VSP) and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) are joining forces to improve traffic safety in the commonwealth through a partnership to put the brakes on highway fatalities.

The three agencies are aligning their efforts to significantly reduce the number of deaths on Virginia’s highways and work collaboratively to address some of the most significant risk factors for highway fatalities.
Trooper at accident scene

They are also reaching out to partners from the non-profit and private sectors to join in the challenge to cut by 100 the number of deaths on Virginia highways by 2010.

There are many things our three agencies can do to improve safety from the engineering, enforcement and education standpoint.

Still, there is no more effective tool available to prevent crashes and reduce the risk of injury or death if a crash occurs than changing driver behavior.

We must remind everyone in Virginia that they are responsible for safety each time they turn the key. The “Are You Virginia’s Next Traffic Fatality?” campaign addresses some of the most significant factors contributing to deaths on Virginia highways:

Not using seatbelts leads to more traffic fatalities than any other single driving behavior.
Crashes are the leading cause of death for Virginians under 30.
Cars, trucks, pedestrians, bicycles and motorcycles must safely coexist on the roadways. Highway motorcyclist deaths are up more than 80 percent from last year, and large truck-involved crashes accounted for 118 fatalities in 2006.

As part of this campaign, Virginians will find safety reminders on:

VDOT's electronic variable message signs
Highway advisory radio stations
511 Virginia

Safety messages in welcome centers, rest areas and DMV customer service centers across the commonwealth will also remind motorists that no one gets into the car thinking that will be the last time they ever drive.

VSP will also be stepping up their patrols to enforce the commonwealth’s traffic safety laws.

Our challenge is to slow the rate of highway deaths and to make the daily ticker of highway deaths stop moving. It is only together that we can reach our goal of saving 100 lives by 2010.

We are therefore issuing a challenge to all residents of Virginia. Help us put the brakes on Virginia fatalities by the end of 2007.

For more information about how you can get involved and help us save lives, click here.