20-20 vision

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

Published: July 3, 2008

Route 20, the Constitution Highway, is a major north/south artery for Orange County. But over the years, the highway has earned the dubious distinction of being one of the region’s most treacherous roads. The two-lane travelway has been the scene of scores of collisions in past years; many have been fatal.
County government and law enforcement officials have pledged to increase safety and decrease the number of accidents on Route 20.
According to data from the Virginia State Police, there were 110 crashes on Route 20 last year. Thirty-five of those crashes resulted in injuries to 57 individuals, and three collisions resulted in fatalities. The total dollar figure for the 72 property damage crashes that occurred on Route 20 last year was $828,057.
Of the total crashes in 2007, two involved excessive speed, one was the result of improper passing, six resulted from a driver using the wrong side of the road, 15 were related to right-of-way violations, and 30 came about from drivers following too closely. Driver inattention was blamed for two crashes; avoiding a vehicle was the cause for three accidents and avoiding an animal resulted in one crash. Four crashes were alcohol related. Last year’s fatal accidents were the result of driving on the wrong side of the road in two incidents.
Virginia State Police Sgt. Mike Woodard said many of the types of accidents reported on Route 20 last year could have been avoided.
“A lot of them are from failing to yield to the right of way, or following too closely,” Woodard said.
That means drivers usually weren’t devoting an appropriate level of attention to the task at hand: operating thousands of pounds of metal at 55 miles per hour or better. Instead, Woodard said, drivers were chatting on cell phones or fiddling with the radio.
In the case of accidents in which drivers failed to yield to the right of way, what generally occurred is that drivers pulled out into the main road into oncoming traffic, Woodard explained.
“Take the extra few seconds to make sure nothing is coming,” he suggested.
At least two of the individuals who died in accidents on Route 20 in 2007 were not wearing seatbelts, Woodard said. In the case of the third fatality, it could not be determined if the victim was wearing a seatbelt.
So far this year, there have already been 22 accidents-including one fatality--on Route 20. At the same time last year, Route 20 had been the site of 56 crashes. Statistics suggest that the road has become safer.
Orange County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tim Murphy said the decrease in crashes can be attributed to enforcement and increased police presence on Route 20.
Sheriffs’ deputies and state police officers have used a speed board and concentrated patrols to implement what Murphy called the sheriff’s commitment to safety.
“The last thing we want to be known as is traffic cops,” Murphy said, “but it’s become a quality of life-a safety issue, and we have to do it.”
Murphy said sheriff’s deputies and state police officers have been issuing tickets to speeders and traffic law offenders at a rate far higher than in previous years. The result, he said, is that drivers’ attentiveness is enhanced and their speed is reduced.
“Just seeing a patrol car out there increases awareness,” Murphy said.
Orange County drivers, it seems, are more conscious of their driving habits and more compliant with laws than folks passing through from other localities, according to Murphy.
A recent study conducted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office revealed that within a 72-hour period, the vast majority of tickets issued along Route 20 were to non-county residents. In fact, only 18 percent of the tickets in that study were written to county residents; 82 percent were written to drivers from out of the area. Murphy said more than 50 percent of the tickets were written for speeding in excess of 73 miles per hour.
This week, the sheriff’s office implements a new traffic safety division, which will focus on education and driver’s education courses in county schools.
“Our goal is to not lose any kids on this road,” Murphy said.
Supervisor Teri Pace, whose District 4 contains the majority of Route 20, said the impending closure of one of the entrances onto Lafayette Road from Route 20 will help improve safety at that particular intersection. Currently, there are three different access points from the main highway onto West Lafayette Drive, and decreased visibility combined with a confusing traffic pattern has been responsible for a number of accidents in that area.
“That is one of the worst areas on Route 20,” Murphy said. The most severe accidents at the intersection involved northbound cars, stopped on Route 20 and waiting to turn left onto Lafayette Drive. While waiting to turn, these cars were struck from behind and pushed right into oncoming traffic.
Pace said the closure of one of the access points was the recommendation of a Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) traffic study.
“It’s dangerous when you have outlets that close together,” Pace explained. “The professionals said it would make it safer to close one of them.” Pace added that property owners near Lafayette Drive and West Lafayette Drive were supportive of the entrance closure.