Pandemic-Related? Big Increase In Fatal Crashes in Prince William

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA — Are motorists driving more recklessly and dangerously during the coronavirus? Anecdotal evidence points to people driving faster and with more distractions since the start of the pandemic.

And now the Prince William County Police Department has released data showing a higher number of fatal crashes in the county in 2020. Prince William County has seen an 85.7 percent increase in fatal crashes so far in 2020 compared to the same time in 2019.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, there have been more incidents of speed-related fatalities than before the pandemic struck.

According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, from Jan. 1, 2020, to Sept. 10, 2020, there was a 20-percent increase — 226 to 272 — in speed-related fatalities on Virginia’s roadways compared to the same time in 2019.

In response to the uptick in the number of fatal crashes, the Prince William County Police Department is urging county residents to obey posted speed limits and observe other basic traffic rules.

In 2019, Prince William County saw fatal crashes decrease by 45.8 percent, a total of 13 compared to 24 in 2018. With three months left in 2020, the county’s cumulative total of fatal crashes currently stands at 13, an increase from seven at this time last year, according to the police department.

In September, for example, police have investigated two separate fatal crashes involving motorcycles within a 24-hour period. The police department is urging residents to slow down and be observant.

So far in 2020, the primary cause of fatal crashes in Prince William County is excessive speed, followed closely by pedestrians not obeying traffic laws resulting in collisions with motor vehicles. In 2019, speed-related crashes killed 349 people across the state.