Chart sources: Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield police departments
With a new state law aimed at curbing distracted driving that took effect on Jan. 1, local police are urging Richmond-area drivers and pedestrians to remain vigilant.
Passed by the General Assembly in 2020, the law bars the use of smartphones without a hands-free setup while driving on state highways under penalty of a $125 fine for a first offense and $250 fines for subsequent violations.
State data indicates that the new law is likely to save lives. According to Drive Smart Virginia and the Virginia DMV, 15% of all fatal crashes in 2018 were related to distracted driving, and Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield were among the top 10 localities for injuries caused by crashes resulting from it. “Distracted driving has been a problem for years, and the No. 1 cause [of] distracted driving has clearly been the cellphone,” says Henrico County Police Lt. Robert Netherland. “By removing that distraction, obviously the end goal is to save people’s lives.”
Drunk driving remains another cause for concern on the region’s roadways: According to police statistics, DUI arrests from March 1 to Oct. 31, 2020, decreased in Richmond and Henrico when compared to the same seven-month span in 2019, falling by 53% in Richmond and by 31% in Henrico.
Netherland says the drop in DUI arrests can be tied to Gov. Ralph Northam’s stay-at-home order in late March, which led to less traffic but a higher percentage of drunk drivers on the road overall.
“Particularly now in the pandemic, I think people tend to drink alone at home more and then hit the road, or maybe they’re going to smaller gatherings in someone’s home,” says Virginia Mothers Against Drunk Driving Program Specialist Cristi Cousins.
Although Chesterfield County saw a similar drop immediately after the statewide lockdown, DUI arrests began to increase month after month starting in July alongside looser restrictions, reaching 75 more arrests by the end of October 2020 than during the same March through October period in 2019. Police say drunk driving, speeding and a lack of seatbelt use are leading causes of fatal crashes — there were 14 deaths related to car crashes in Chesterfield in 2020 as of press time, including seven pedestrian deaths.“It’s a constant struggle because the pedestrian crashes [that] we work are the most graphic, and they’re the worst,” Chesterfield Police Sgt. Stephen Rouze says.
