State Police urge caution on eve of holiday travel period

Virginia police want motorists to know: When they travel this Thanksgiving holiday, buckle up.

For the last two Wednesday-to-Sunday travel periods surrounding Thanksgiving, there were 31 fatalities on the road. Thirty-nine percent weren’t wearing seat belts.

“That’s not a number we like,” said John Saunders, head of DMV’s Virginia Highway Safety Office.

Virginia State Police Sgt. Thomas J. Molnar, who has spent 11 years patrolling state roadways, said he remembers one crash vividly.

A family was on the road in an SUV. Their 10-year old girl was sleeping in the cargo area without a seatbelt or safety restraint. The SUV crashed, flipped over, and the girl was ejected and hit by the vehicle, he said. She was killed at the scene. Her family in the SUV was unharmed.

Officials from AAA predicted travel will be up 3 percent this Thanksgiving compared to last year, and more people on the road increases the chances of accidents.

In addition, Saunders and Molnar said that the number of motorists driving while distracted or tired is growing, and causing accidents.

An accident in Richmond that snarled northbound traffic on I-95 last week at I-295 was caused by a tractor trailer driver who fell asleep at the wheel about 5 a.m., Molnar said. Officials are encouraging people to plan ahead and give themselves plenty of time to travel this Thanksgiving.

“If you’re tired, don’t push yourself,” Molnar said. “Don’t work all day Wednesday, then hop in your car and drive for eight hours. Coffee and energy drinks aren’t a fix to the problem.”