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Virginia’s 1,301 traffic fatalities of 1969 far exceeded the existing high of 1,223 set in 1967 and marked the sixth consecutive yeai in which they have topped the 1,000 mark, Colonel H. W. Burgess, Superintendent of State Police, announced today.
“There is simply no plausible explanation,” he said. “The year saw more effort both on the state and national level than ever before, but deaths continued to rise at an alarming rate.”
The rate of deaths per 100 million miles of travel was 4.9 which compared well with the 4.8 of 1968 and was below the national average of 5.2. Traffic volumes were up approximately 5.3 percent.
Pedestrian deaths were up from 232 to 239. Crashes killing more than one person were down from 126 killing a total of 308 to 123 killing 300. Non-collision crashes, involving contact with no other vehicle or a pedestrian, rose from 456 killing 522 to 500 killing 582. Colonel Burgess observed here that this type of crash almost inevitably rises from excessive speed, drowsiness or drinking.
Urban deaths were down from 315 to 292 but rural ones rose from 903 to 1,009. Deaths of servicemen dropped from 7 3 to 55. Motorcycle deaths continued to drop sharply from 47 in 1967 to 36 in 1968 to 16 in 1969.
Virginia saw 756 deaths in 1960, 856 in 1961, 974 in 1962, 989 in 1963, 1,050 in 1964, 1,062 in 1965, 1,106 in 1966, 1,223 in 1967 and 1,218 in 1968. Colonel Burgess noted that the overall toll could be increased slightly due to late reporting or the deaths of those now carried as injured.
Summer Conservation Jobs Available
Summer jobs in a wide variety of conservation fields will be made available for the eighth consecutive year through t cooperative program involving the U.S. Department of the Interioi and the Virginia Division of the Izaak Walton League of America, according to League President Vivian Barnette. The program is National in scope and gives young people a chance to work on National Parks, Wildlife Rufuges, and other conservation and recreation areas administered by the Department of the Interior. Dnly high school seniors interested in a conservation career arB "considered f,or ,t£e appointments. To date 9 Virginia youths have been given a preview of a conservation career through this program plus practical field experience valuable as a background for formal studies. To qualify, a young man must expect to graduate from high school this spring, be 18 years oi age by June 15,1970, and should have definite plans to entei college or university for advance study in wildlife management, forestry, soil and range conservation, geology, outdooi recreation or related fields Applications from Virginia students will be handled by £
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