Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 27, 1995                   TAG: 9503270036
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT                                 LENGTH: Medium

FRANKLIN COUNTY SPREADING WORD ON SAFE DRIVING

If you're a Franklin County resident and you find something out of the ordinary stuffed in with your utility bill sometime soon, take time to look at it, said Bob Strickler, a captain with the county Sheriff's Office.

Strickler and Steve Goodwin - transportation safety division manager for the Department of Motor Vehicles' regional office in Roanoke - are stepping up their efforts to make the public aware of the importance of paying attention to and following driving laws.

One of the ideas they're considering is a mass mailing in utility bills.

Why?

Fifteen people were killed in car wrecks in Franklin County last year, the highest number in the county since 1984. Already this year, three traffic fatalities have been recorded.

Strickler and Goodwin are concerned because, of the 64 localities handled by the DMV's Roanoke regional office, Franklin County has been a leader in public awareness efforts over the past few years.

So, why the high number of fatalities?

Late last year, they gathered up all the available state police and county information about the fatal wrecks and went over it in detail.

While the crashes happened in various locations throughout the county, and under varying circumstances, one finding is extremely telling:

Of the 18 people killed in car wrecks since January 1994, 16 were not wearing a seat belt.

And, of the 15 wrecks that claimed 18 lives, only one was so severe that the use of a seat belt would not have mattered.

The accident reports revealed that alcohol was a factor in 12 of the 18 deaths, and that driver inattention was a factor in many of the wrecks as well.

"We don't want to go into bars, though, and say, `Buckle up while you drive drunk,''' Goodwin said. "We need to work both issues here."

Strickler and Goodwin are determined to make the public more cautious.

In fact, Goodwin - an accident reconstruction expert - has been sworn in as a deputy and will put his talents to work for the Sheriff's Office.

"When police officers arrive on an accident scene, they're looking to find out what happened," Goodwin said. "I'm going to try and find out why the wrecks happened."

Strickler hopes Goodwin's timely accident studies will help law enforcement and rescue workers pinpoint areas where changes can be made to prevent traffic deaths.

In addition to the mass mailing with utility bills, other ideas Strickler and Goodwin are exploring include: doing the same thing with commissioner of revenue mailings; asking grocers to place inserts in shopping bags; and finding a prominent place to display a large county map on which wreck sites would be marked for public awareness.

Strickler, who is chairman of the Blue Ridge Community Safety Board, has secured one grant to fund some of the programs and is applying for others.

At a meeting of the safety board March 17, Strickler discussed the traffic fatality problem in Franklin County and asked board members for suggestions.

Strickler also has another resource he plans to tap - more than 90 percent of the homes in Franklin County are under the Neighborhood Watch program he oversees.

"We recognize the importance of this problem," said Strickler, "so we're going to do our best to do something about it."

Keywords:
FATALITY