This week a national effort to promote teen driver safety is underway, but already a number of fatal crashes have occurred in the Commonwealth.
According to the Virginia State Police, five teenagers between 15 and 18 have died in automobile accidents since Saturday – three on Monday alone.
Police report that the five fatalities occurred in the counties of Amherst, Augusta, Gloucester, Lee and Loudoun. Those killed included a 15-year-old passenger, a 16-year-old driver, two 17-year-old drivers and an 18-year-old passenger.
Last year’s statistics from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles identified 92 traffic fatalities involving people between 15 and 19 years old.
According to a release from the VSP, 50 fatal crashes involving teenagers occurred in 2007, but this year’s number is already at 48.
In a released statement, VSP Superintendent Colonel W. Steven Flaherty called the recent fatalities “disheartening and frustrating.”
“It is especially difficult when those crashes could have been prevented through the use of a safety belt or obeying the posted speed limits,” he said.
Police are encouraging drivers to slow down, avoid distractions, buckle up and obey all speed limits.
