The Department of Motor Vehicles along with NHTSA recognizes October as Pedestrian Safety Awareness month. The Virginia crash data indicates pedestrian crashes, fatalities and injuries trended higher for three consecutive years. Therefore, there is a need to educate our communities on pedestrian safety. Pedestrian crash data totals in the Commonwealth of Virginia are as follows:

However, messaging, education and enforcement initiatives by all partners’ has assisted in reducing fatalities and serious injuries. See the comparison from 2019 – 2020 preliminary data through September 15 of each year:

Knowing the data and using the available resources below will be important as we all work to decrease the pedestrian related crashes, fatalities, and injuries. The following resources are included for our partners to use to educate our communities.

Everyone is a Pedestrian

Pedestrian Safety Tool Kit for Hispanics

DMV pedestrian safety

Toward Zero Deaths

See and Be Seen  (Drive Smart Virginia)

shareVAroads  (Northern Virginia Regional Commission)

Street Smart Safety Campaign

Halloween provides opportunities for parents and their children to wear reflective clothing as part of their costumes, always carry a flashlight and to travel in groups with parents or other adults. Drivers need to avoid neighborhoods during peak trick-or-treating times, and they need to buckle up, avoid distractions and plan for a safe ride home after the Halloween celebration.

Darkness is coming earlier as the weeks move on in the year, and daylight hours will be reduced even more when Daylight Saving Time ends Nov. 1st. With this, pedestrian safety is paramount. Pedestrians are reminded to always cross at crosswalks, be predictable, follow the rules of the road, and most importantly, to be visible by carrying a flashlight at night.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has designated the week of October 18-24, 2020 as National Teen Driver Safety Week. During this week, parents are encouraged to have those important conversations with their teens about how to stay safe while driving a motor vehicle. Parents are asked to talk to their teens about the dangers they face on the road and the rules they need to follow to stay safe. Topics of conversation include the importance of always wearing a seat belt, following a safe speed and obeying passenger limit laws, as well as educating them on the dangers of drunk, distracted and drowsy driving.

Virginia DMV is teaming up with its highway safety partners to get messages out to help educate Virginia communities about teen driver safety and to encourage them to have the conversations to keep Virginia teen drivers safe on the road. Highway safety partners will use their sphere of influence on their social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, distribution of brochures and other media and written platforms as we work together to save lives.

Impaired pedestrians and drivers can be a deadly combination on Halloween, which falls on a Saturday this year, normally translating into more drunk drivers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has downloadable Halloween messaging on its Traffic Safety Marketing website. Additionally, YOVASO has safety tips for trick-or-treaters and drivers on Halloween, and here’s safety tips from Safe Kids. Last year from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, there were 67 alcohol-related crashes, 37 injuries and three deaths in the Commonwealth.