Report: Most likely place in Va. to crash is Hampton Roads

On average, there’s a traffic accident in Hampton Roads every 19 minutes. Every 2½ days, someone dies from one of those crashes.    According to a report released Wednesday, Hampton Roads had the highest crash rate among Virginia metro areas from 2006 to 2008. Yet, the number of accidents has dropped every year since 2004 – an overall decline of 17 percent – and there were fewer crashes in 2008 (27,600) than in any year in the past decade.

Regional fatalities, however, are up. There were 153 traffic deaths in 2008, a 19 percent increase since 2003.

Statewide, the number of fatalities  fell 13 percent during the same period.

Nationally, Hampton Roads ranks 17th among 26 similar-size  U.S. metro areas in traffic fatality rates, with New Orleans the worst and San Jose the best.

These draft statistics were presented Wednesday to an advisory committee of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization.

Keith Nichols, senior transportation engineer, said the drop in crashes correlates with a decline in driving in Hampton Roads. In previous reports, the planning agency said the recession and high gas prices suppressed travel by  as much as 3.5 percent last year.

In general, Nichols said, the region’s urban areas had higher crash rates than rural areas because of more “traffic conflicts,” including intersections and driveways for businesses.

Other findings:

-- Hampton Roads’ crash rate is 4 percent higher than Richmond's and Roanoke's and 10 percent higher than Northern Virginia's. The crash rate measures accidents per amount of travel.

-- The region’s crash fatality rate is lower than Roanoke’s and Richmond’s but is 68 percent higher than Northern Virginia’s.

-- Nearly 8 percent of all crashes in Hampton Roads involved alcohol. About 41 percent of fatal crashes involved alcohol. The number of crashes involving alcohol has dropped every year since 2004.

-- About 64 percent of people killed in local accidents were not wearing seat belts or sitting in a child safety seat..

-- The leading causes of accidents here include following too closely, distracted driving and failure to yield. The leading causes of fatal accidents were distracted driving and speeding.

-- The number of injuries resulting from traffic accidents in Hampton Roads has decreased every year since 2003, in part  because of safer cars and fewer miles driven. Still, the region had the highest injury rate among the state’s metro areas.