According to public records, Henrico County, the City of Richmond, and Chesterfield County are among the top five regions in the state with the highest incidents of traffic accidents. The Richmond metro area is a hub  for I-95, 1-295, and I-64 through which a great deal of traffic passes. I really can't state with certainty what the primary causes of accidents would be on these specific interstates, but reference to statistics gathered by the Virginia State Police (VSP) that break down the causes of traffic accidents throughout Virginia are a helpful resource. For instance, in 2007 (the most recent reporting period available) there were 145,405 traffic crashes state-wide. Of these, almost half resulted in no moving violations being issued. However, where moving violations were issued to one of the drivers involved, a pattern can be discerned that you might find surprising. First, weather apparently bore little relation to the number, since overwhelmingly, most accidents occurred in daylight hours with no rain, fog or other weather impediments. Also, alcohol impairment of the driver of on of the cars involved occurred less than 3% of the time. However, driver mistakes dominated. Citations were issued for failure to yield and following too close in a combined 49,644 crashes, or more than a third of the total crashes. In other words, people injured in auto accidents are most likely to have been hurt because the other driver was not paying attention to what he or she was doing. That is negligence.

Frequently Asked Questions

 


Q: What do you think is the primary cause of accidents on interstate highways such as I-95, I-295 and I-64 in and around Richmond? 

A: According to public records, Henrico County, the City of Richmond, and Chesterfield County are among the top five regions in the state with the highest incidents of traffic accidents. The Richmond metro area is a hub  for I-95, 1-295, and I-64 through which a great deal of traffic passes. I really can't state with certainty what the primary causes of accidents would be on these specific interstates, but reference to statistics gathered by the Virginia State Police (VSP) that break down the causes of traffic accidents throughout Virginia are a helpful resource.

For instance, in 2007 (the most recent reporting period available) there were 145,405 traffic crashes state-wide. Of these, almost half resulted in no moving violations being issued. However, where moving violations were issued to one of the drivers involved, a pattern can be discerned that you might find surprising.

First, weather apparently bore little relation to the number, since overwhelmingly, most accidents occurred in daylight hours with no rain, fog or other weather impediments.

Also, alcohol impairment of the driver of on of the cars involved occurred less than 3% of the time.

However, driver mistakes dominated. Citations were issued for "failure to yield" and "following too close" in a combined 49,644 crashes, or more than a third of the total crashes. In other words, people injured in auto accidents are most likely to have been hurt because the other driver was not paying attention to what he or she was doing. That is negligence.


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