THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995               TAG: 9501270027
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J6   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   31 lines

WAS CHASE TOO DANGEROUS? YES

High-speed chases by city and state police do little to effect actual public safety but do much to heighten the risk to the general public of being killed by a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs, a driver now focused on the flashing lights and sirens of the police vehicles behind him and not on the task of driving. If a driver is intent on running, the only way the police can stop him is by forcing a crash which too often results in the death of the driver or an innocent third party.

Was the accident that caused the recent deaths on Brambleton Avenue and Duke Street avoidable? Was it the drunken driver who caused the accident? (Yes.) Was the fact that he was being pursued at a high rate of speed through a high-traffic area partially to blame for him being at that spot at that time? (Yes.)

With police vehicles armed with radios and cameras, with license numbers and the description of the vehicle in hand, I would think the police would have a pretty good idea of where to find the driver without the chase.

There has just got to be a better way!

GARY L. NAIGLE

Norfolk, Jan. 23, 1995 by CNB