| RELEASE: CONTACT: |
IMMEDIATE Joan Morris 703-383-2465 joan.morris@VDOT.Virginia.gov Wallace Bouldin Va State Police 703 323-4515 |
NOVA-NR05-02 Jan. 6, 2005 |
HOV Enforcement Task Force Makes Recommendations To Safeguard HOV lanes
Continuing strict enforcement, creating HOV enforcement zones and allowing the current exemption for hybrid vehicles to expire in July 2006 will help preserve the effectiveness of Northern Virginia’s HOV lanes, according to the Second Report of the HOV Enforcement Task Force released today by the Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia State Police. The Secretaries of Transportation, Natural Resources and Public Safety soon will begin their review of the recommendations.
“Northern Virginia’s HOV system is one of the most successful in the country and is critical to moving people,” said Dennis Morrison, District Administrator for Northern Virginia VDOT and co-author of the report. “The HOV lanes move more people in carpools, vanpools, buses, motorcycles, clean fuel vehicles and trucks from Virginia to the core areas of Arlington and D.C. than the regular highway lanes, Metrorail or Virginia Railway Express. Our transportation network could not properly function without HOV lanes.”
In 2002, on a typical weekday morning, more than 52,000 people in Virginia used the HOV lanes to the District and Arlington, while Metrorail carried 41,300 passengers and Virginia Railway Express carried 4,310 to the same destinations. On Shirley Highway in 2003, the two HOV lanes moved 29,400 people in 7,900 vehicles while the four regular lanes moved 21,300 people in 18,450 vehicles.
The HOV Enforcement Task Force work from 2003 resulted in increased enforcement on HOV lanes as well as more stringent HOV sanctions that took effect July 1, 2004. The 2004 General Assembly accepted the Governor’s recommendations and increased HOV enforcement funding from $140,000 to $390,000 annually; doubled HOV fines to a maximum of $1,000 and made repeat HOV violators subject to moving violation penalties and up to three points on their driving record.
Over the past 18 months, Virginia State Police has stepped up enforcement, issuing 18,000 citations. “We are making strides to decrease the number of repeat offenders,” said Captain Mike Counts. “However, over the past year there has been a dramatic increase in the number of low occupancy vehicles, including exempt vehicles, using HOV lanes. Those vehicles are clogging the HOV lanes and reducing the travel time benefits for commuters willing to rideshare.”
In the I-95 corridor, many of the low occupancy vehicles are hybrids, permitted under Virginia law to use the HOV lanes until July 1, 2006. While the hybrid vehicle pilot program has succeeded beyond all expectations and contributed to cleaner air, further growth will erode the safe and efficient operation of the HOV lanes. Hybrid vehicles have qualified for clean special fuel plates since 2000.
In Northern Virginia this year, DMV registrations of vehicles qualifying for clean special fuel plates increased: in April 2003, there were approximately 2,500 hybrid vehicles registered with clean special fuel plates; at the end of 2004, there were approximately 6,800 hybrid vehicles registered with clean special fuel plates. Traffic counts on the I-95 HOV lanes showed that clean fuel plates more than tripled from 480 in the spring of 2004 to 1,700 in October 2004, accounting for 18 percent of HOV traffic.
The rapid growth in hybrids has helped push the I-95 HOV lanes beyond the recommended HOV operating capacity, which is 1,500 to 1,800 vehicles per lane, per hour.
The Task Force recommends that only the cleanest hybrid vehicles be allowed to use the HOV lanes and that the current hybrid exemption from HOV restrictions expire in 2006, as provided in current Virginia law. The Task Force report also contains a letter from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) expressing significant concern with recent HOV trends in the I-95 corridor, especially the significant growth in hybrid vehicles. FHWA is requiring a more detailed report from VDOT by February 28, 2005.
The HOV Task Force originally convened in May 2003 by Secretary of Transportation Whittington W. Clement and Secretary of Public Safety John W. Marshall. In response to continuing concerns by citizens and local governments the task force reconvened in July 2004 to identify remaining issues and make recommendations to improve the effectives of the HOV system.
HOV Task Force Report (PDF, 3 MB)
Task Force Members
Dennis Morrison, Virginia Department of Transportation
Captain Mike Counts, Virginia State Police
Young Ho Chang, Fairfax County DOT
J. Marc Copeland, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
Elmer Tippett, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Lon Anderson, AAA, Mid-Atlantic Chapter
# #
NR05-2
Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.
“Northern Virginia’s HOV system is one of the most successful in the country and is critical to moving people,” said Dennis Morrison, District Administrator for Northern Virginia VDOT and co-author of the report. “The HOV lanes move more people in carpools, vanpools, buses, motorcycles, clean fuel vehicles and trucks from Virginia to the core areas of Arlington and D.C. than the regular highway lanes, Metrorail or Virginia Railway Express. Our transportation network could not properly function without HOV lanes.”
In 2002, on a typical weekday morning, more than 52,000 people in Virginia used the HOV lanes to the District and Arlington, while Metrorail carried 41,300 passengers and Virginia Railway Express carried 4,310 to the same destinations. On Shirley Highway in 2003, the two HOV lanes moved 29,400 people in 7,900 vehicles while the four regular lanes moved 21,300 people in 18,450 vehicles.
The HOV Enforcement Task Force work from 2003 resulted in increased enforcement on HOV lanes as well as more stringent HOV sanctions that took effect July 1, 2004. The 2004 General Assembly accepted the Governor’s recommendations and increased HOV enforcement funding from $140,000 to $390,000 annually; doubled HOV fines to a maximum of $1,000 and made repeat HOV violators subject to moving violation penalties and up to three points on their driving record.
Over the past 18 months, Virginia State Police has stepped up enforcement, issuing 18,000 citations. “We are making strides to decrease the number of repeat offenders,” said Captain Mike Counts. “However, over the past year there has been a dramatic increase in the number of low occupancy vehicles, including exempt vehicles, using HOV lanes. Those vehicles are clogging the HOV lanes and reducing the travel time benefits for commuters willing to rideshare.”
In the I-95 corridor, many of the low occupancy vehicles are hybrids, permitted under Virginia law to use the HOV lanes until July 1, 2006. While the hybrid vehicle pilot program has succeeded beyond all expectations and contributed to cleaner air, further growth will erode the safe and efficient operation of the HOV lanes. Hybrid vehicles have qualified for clean special fuel plates since 2000.
In Northern Virginia this year, DMV registrations of vehicles qualifying for clean special fuel plates increased: in April 2003, there were approximately 2,500 hybrid vehicles registered with clean special fuel plates; at the end of 2004, there were approximately 6,800 hybrid vehicles registered with clean special fuel plates. Traffic counts on the I-95 HOV lanes showed that clean fuel plates more than tripled from 480 in the spring of 2004 to 1,700 in October 2004, accounting for 18 percent of HOV traffic.
The rapid growth in hybrids has helped push the I-95 HOV lanes beyond the recommended HOV operating capacity, which is 1,500 to 1,800 vehicles per lane, per hour.
The Task Force recommends that only the cleanest hybrid vehicles be allowed to use the HOV lanes and that the current hybrid exemption from HOV restrictions expire in 2006, as provided in current Virginia law. The Task Force report also contains a letter from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) expressing significant concern with recent HOV trends in the I-95 corridor, especially the significant growth in hybrid vehicles. FHWA is requiring a more detailed report from VDOT by February 28, 2005.
The HOV Task Force originally convened in May 2003 by Secretary of Transportation Whittington W. Clement and Secretary of Public Safety John W. Marshall. In response to continuing concerns by citizens and local governments the task force reconvened in July 2004 to identify remaining issues and make recommendations to improve the effectives of the HOV system.
HOV Task Force Report (PDF, 3 MB)
Task Force Members
Dennis Morrison, Virginia Department of Transportation
Captain Mike Counts, Virginia State Police
Young Ho Chang, Fairfax County DOT
J. Marc Copeland, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
Elmer Tippett, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Lon Anderson, AAA, Mid-Atlantic Chapter
# #
NR05-2
Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.
Page last modified: Nov. 27, 2006
