Buckle up seatbelts to avoid Thanksgiving fatalities, advise Virginia State Police

State Troopers will be increasing their presence on Virginia’s roads during the five-day holiday statistical counting period.  The period starts at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, and runs through 11:59 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024.

Thanksgiving week taditionally marks the start of holiday travel.  With Virginians expected to hit the roads, and in many cases, travel long distances, Virginia State Police encourage everyone to buckle up, and to drive within the speed limits this holiday season.

Last Thanksgiving, half of the 11 traffic fatalities involved someone not wearing a seatbelt (one fatality in 2023 was to a pedestrian).*

“Buckling up takes minimal time and is one of the biggest things you can do to ensure that you arrive at your holiday destination safely,” said Lt. Col. Matt Hanley, Interim Superintendent of Virginia State Police. “We are asking you this holiday season to wear a seat belt, to slow down and drive within the speed limit, to drive sober, and drive distraction free.  Help us make this a safe holiday.”

Virginia State Police’s Thanksgiving efforts coincide with the annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign and Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) winter holidays DUI-prevention campaign. Both are educational and enforcement-oriented traffic safety initiatives aimed at saving lives on Virginia’s highways through increased usage of seat belts and the deterrence of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Virginia State Police will be, once again, participating in Operation C.A.R.E. – Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort.  The 2023 Thanksgiving Holiday CARE initiative led to state troopers citing 4,520 drivers for speeding and 1,840 for reckless driving.   State troopers also arrested 89 drivers for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and wrote 427 citations for not wearing a seat belt. 

There were 11 traffic fatalities in Virginia during the 2023 counting period, down from 19 in 2022.  Preliminary data shows that through Nov. 15, there have been 745 traffic fatalities this year.  In 2023, there were 752 fatalities through Nov. 15, 2023, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Highway Safety Office