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TextStepping Out this Spring? Be StreetSmart!
Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
703-246-2253. TTY 703-204-2264. Fax 703-246-4253
FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police
News Release: 09/082/LHC
March 23, 2009
Stepping Out this Spring? Be StreetSmart!
Beginning Monday, March 23, police officers are conducting increased enforcement of pedestrian safety laws at locations across Fairfax County. Enhanced enforcement coincides with the 2009 regional StreetSmart campaign, an annual public education and awareness effort that targets pedestrian and bicycle safety and begins this week.
A 58-year-old Springfield woman, attempting to cross Old Keene Mill Road around 8 p.m. Saturday, March 21, was the third pedestrian fatality in Fairfax County in 2009.
Attempting to encourage safe walking and bicycling, officers will issue warnings and citations for the following infractions:
- Failure to yield right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks
- Improper turns into crosswalks
- Failure to obey “No turn on red” while pedestrians are present
- Running red lights and stop signs
- Failure to obey pedestrian control signals
Highlights of the Fairfax campaign include targeting crosswalk/trail intersections in the Reston area. With over 55 miles of pathways, enjoyed by joggers, bikers and walkers each day, trail safety is a priority for police. Statistical crash analysis from 2007-2008 indicates that there were 24 bicycle and pedestrian crashes in the Reston Police District. Of those, 16 were attributed to the cyclist or pedestrian (10 involved a bicycle, six involved a pedestrian), rather than a motor vehicle. The highest concentration of crashes occurred along Reston Parkway between Sunrise Valley Drive and Wiehle Avenue, on Centreville Road between Coppermine Drive and Parcher Avenue and on Parcher Avenue.
For more information on pedestrian safety in Fairfax County and the regional StreetSmart campaign, go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/pedestrian/ . For more pedestrian safety tips, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police.
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