VDOT's Corridor Program

Occoquan, VA. - Beginning Friday, March 18, motorists who speed, tailgate or drive recklessly on an 11-mile stretch of I-95 in Prince William County will be fined up to $2,500 as part of a major effort to reduce crashes on one of Virginia’s most crash prone stretches of interstate, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) announced today.

VDOT, working with Virginia State Police and the Department of Motor Vehicles, is designating the stretch of I-95, from Route 619 near Quantico to Route 123 near Occoquan, a Highway Safety Corridor because of its high crash rate and the severity of those crashes. From 2000 through 2002, 800 people were injured and nine people died in 1,623 crashes on the 11-mile segment. About 150,000 vehicles a day travel I-95 in Prince William County.

“This initiative is about saving lives,” said Dennis Morrison, VDOT District Administrator for Northern Virginia. “It’s going to take the enforcement, driver education and engineering communities working together to reducing the number of crashes. VDOT, DMV and Virginia State Police are committed to making this a safer corridor in which to travel.”

Eleven large black and white signs posted along the 11-mile stretch of interstate will be unveiled today and Virginia State Police will begin ticketing violators at 12:01 a.m. March 18.

“We see too many crashes every day involving inattention, erratic behavior and speed,” said Virginia State Police Captain Mike Counts. “This designation will hopefully raise awareness of the need for drivers to take safety into their own hands. The increased fines associated with this Highway Safety Corridor will give troopers another tool in making sure everyone obeys traffic laws and puts safety above all else when getting behind the wheel.”

The 2003 General Assembly enacted legislation for a Highway Safety Corridor program to improve safety on interstate and primary roads. In areas designated as Highway Safety Corridors, fines for speeding tickets are increased up to $500 and fines for criminal offenses such as reckless driving or driving under the influence could cost as much as $2,500.

"It is unacceptable to drive in an irresponsible manner in Virginia and there are consequence for those behaviors,” said Vince Burgess, Assistant Commissioner for the Department of Motor Vehicles. “Unfortunately the crash experience for this section of interstate makes it a top candidate. Our goal is to change that as quickly as possible.”
The first Highway Safety Corridor designation was a 15-mile section in Interstate 81 posted in early 2004, from mile marker 127 near Ironto in Montgomery County to mile marker 142 near Salem in Roanoke County. Earlier this year, the second Highway Safety Corridor was designated on 13 miles of I-95 in Richmond between Parham Road and Bells Road.
A section of interstate can be designated as a Highway Safety Corridor after a detailed traffic engineering study and a public comment period. Traffic engineers select sites after an analysis of:

Crash frequency

Overall vehicle crash rate

Truck-involved crash rate

Enforcement considerations

Roadway characteristics

VDOT and the Department of Motor Vehicles are using federal safety grant money for radio ads to raise awareness of the newest corridor.

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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: Jan. 18, 2008