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Virginia Traffic
Fatalities Reduced
Last Year
Richmond, Va.—A spectacular reduction of about 12 percent in Virginia's 1960 traffic deaths wasannounced today by Colonel C. W. Woodson, Jr., Superintendent of State Police and Chairman of the Governor’s Highway Safety Committee, as he set the score tentatively at 751 against the 1959 toll of 850.
Explaining the word “tentative" as used here, Colonel Wo-xlson explained that a slight upward revision of all statistics might be expected due to late reports and deaths of persons now carried as injured, since such deaths revert to the date of injury for statistical purposes. Colonel Woodson said, however, that not more than five or six extra deaths could normally be expected. This marked the third consecutive year Virginia deaths have been reduced from the 912 of 1957.
In the light of a rise of about 1.8 percent in traffic volumes, he was certain that the lowest death ■ ate (deaths per 100 million miles^ of travel) would again be estimated and estimated it would be alound 4.4 against an estimated national one of 5.3. He,noted that the all-time high for Virginia was 24.2 in 1935.
Pedestrian deaths dropped from 171 to 158 to approach the all-time low of 151 in 1958. The record high was 343 in 1*941. Deaths of servicemen were halved with 31 in 1960 and 62 in 1959. Here, Colonel Woodson had a word of praise for the comprehensive safety programs in force at many Virginia military installations.
Crashes killing more than one person dropped drastically from 91 which killed 225 people in 1959' to 65 which killed 14-4 last year. “We were fortunate in this category,*’ he observed, “and we cam not escape the fact that it contributed materially to our large reduction.” vHe then explained that any factor causing a fatal crash can kill as many people as happen to occupy the involved vehicles but who do not contribute to the crash. •Crashes in which the vehicle had no contact with another vehicle fell from 307, killing 34°, to 266 which killed 289. Urban deaths were up from 126 to 131 but this increase was heavily counterbalanced by a drop from 724 to 620 in rural fatalities.
“Virginia won the Grand Award of the National Safety
69.4%