RICHMOND - Although overall crash fatalities are decreasing in the area, the Richmond region reports a startling increase in the number of people killed in crashes who weren't wearing their seat belt, according to preliminary statistics from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
As of October 31, 81 people who weren't properly secured in a seat belt or car seat died as a result of crashes in the Richmond region since the beginning of the year, compared to 66 over the same time last year. This is an increase of 23%.
DMV also notes increases in crash deaths among pedestrians and teen drivers locally so far this year. The chart below lists preliminary crash statistics for the Richmond region as of October 31. DMV's Richmond region encompasses the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond, and the counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Halifax, Hanover, Henrico, Louisa, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward and Prince George.
"We provide this data to give folks a look at what's going on right now in their communities. We hope drivers will be motivated to make a change and put a stop to the behaviors that we know contribute to these devastating crashes," said Acting DMV Commissioner Linda Ford, the Governor's Highway Safety Representative. "Each of these numbers represents a real person and many are people in your community. We all have the power to make a difference by buckling up, slowing down and never driving distracted or impaired."
Throughout the Commonwealth, 822 people have died in crashes so far this year, a 2% increase compared to this time last year.
Editor’s Note: Fully customizable data is available through TREDS.