ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603020003
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: FAIRFAX
SOURCE: Associated Press
Alcohol-related fatalities dropped by 29 percent in Northern Virginia last year, continuing a five-year local and statewide trend, transportation officials said.
There were 29 drunken-driving deaths on Northern Virginia roads last year, compared with 41 the year before and 68 in 1990, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
Statewide, the number of alcohol-related fatalities has plummeted by 68 percent in the past five years, from 535 in 1990 to 169 last year, the DMV said.
Law enforcement officials, safety experts and advocacy groups say the decline is the result of several factors, from the mandatory installation of air bags in new cars to public awareness campaigns about drunken driving and a drop in the legal threshold for intoxication.
``I think it's fair to say that you're seeing a whole combination of things at work here,'' said Fairfax County police Capt. Robert R. Beach, who heads the department's traffic division.
``There's been a tremendous effort to educate and apprehend people in recent years,'' Beach said.
Each Northern Virginia county registered a drop in alcohol-related traffic deaths last year. The cities of Fairfax City and Alexandria also recorded reductions.
The five-year decline was most pronounced in Prince William County, where 22 people died in alcohol-related accidents in 1990. Five people died in such accidents there last year.
Traffic fatalities not related to alcohol also decreased in Northern Virginia and statewide last year. The region reported 94 such fatalities in 1995, compared with 116 in 1994 and 139 in 1990. Statewide, the number of all traffic deaths fell to 896 last year from 1,071 in 1990.
The decrease is especially remarkable because Virginia added 400,000 drivers from 1990 to 1994, DMV officials said.
``We've got things like air bags, anti-lock brakes and side-impact protection standards now,'' said John Undeland, spokesman for the American Automobile Association. ``All these things are improving our survivability in crashes.''
In the past three years, Virginia has passed laws to lower the legal blood-alcohol concentration limit to 0.08, to suspend licenses on the scene for anyone arrested for driving while intoxicated and to toughen penalties for repeat offenders.
``The laws probably are having both a direct and a deterrent effect,'' Undeland said.
Jeffrey Sabol, president of the Loudoun County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said increased awareness of drinking and driving in the media and in schools is working.
``Enforcement and prosecution are good, but [education] is the only thing that's really going to work,'' Sabol said.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB