Montgomery County to Double the Number of Speed Cameras

(Click on the image for Kevin Lewis's ABC7 report)

"One thing I think there is universal agreement on, and public sentiment has shifted significantly on this, are traffic cameras, and red light cameras," Albornoz noted. "People don't love getting them in the mail, but I think there is an acknowledgment that they work."

Pedestrian Fatalities Increase with the End Of Daylight Savings Time

(Click on the image for the video)

 Be extra careful in the coming days, especially at dusk!

Suspect Linked to Multiple Thefts in Fort Washington

(Click on the image for the PGPD post)

Do you recognize this suspect? If so, please Submit Your Mobile App Tip Here! We would like to talk to him about multiple thefts that occurred in Fort Washington. The preliminary investigation revealed he is linked to several thefts from autos and package thefts in both September and October. Detectives are actively working to arrest him before he strikes again. Please call 301-292-5401 with any helpful information. Please refer to case number 20-0043279.

 

Is Your Car Locked?

This happened in Potomac Knolls at 5:17 AM on Oct 27, 2020 (posted on Nextdoor).

Is your car locked?

When you travel Indian Head Highway, you're taking your life, literally, into your own hands

(Click on the image for Bruce Leshan's WUSA9 report)

• Death toll on Indian Head Highway doubles in a year.
• With fewer people on the road because of the pandemic, you might think the death toll from traffic crashes would go down. But that’s far from the case on a notorious stretch of Prince George’s County highway.
• Seven people have already died this year on Indian Head Highway, and five of them were pedestrians.
• AAA says speeding is a huge problem on the road. Between January and mid-September, 414 drivers were caught by speed cameras traveling over 100 miles an hour; one was going 143 and another was clocked at 161 mph. 
• Nearly 500 drivers were caught going over 90 mph, 1,400 over 80 mph and more than 10,000 were driving in excess of 70 mph. 
• "When you travel Indian Head Highway, you're taking your life, literally, into your own hands," John Townsend of AAA Mid-Atlantic said. 

Here’s where crash fatalities and injuries are happening in Prince George’s County

(Click on the image for Bryan Barnett-Woods' Greater Greater Washington report)

• As part of its Vision Zero Initiative, Prince George’s County published a tool in August mapping recent traffic crashes involving fatalities or serious injuries. Anyone can now explore the data to see where serious crashes are happening and where those crashes involve pedestrians or bicyclists. [See https://dviicac.blogspot.com/2020/08/innovative-new-tool-supports-vision-zero.html]
• The county’s data maps are part of an effort to better monitor traffic crashes to identify trends, high risk populations, and dangerous locations. The county plans to use this data to work toward Vision Zero, a goal to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries by 2040.
• One notable detail the maps reveal is that 76% of fatal crashes, and 83% of pedestrian fatalities, occurred on state-owned roadways. This could be because state-owned highways often have higher speed limits than smaller county-owned streets. One of these roads, Indian Head Highway (Route 210), saw more than 300 total accidents each year between 2016 and 2019, WTOP reported — Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks called it a “death trap.” The high prevalence of serious crashes on state-owned roads means the county will have to work in collaboration with the state to make changes.

Police Task Force Presents to County Council

(Click on the image for Tracee Wilkins News4 report)

 Recommendations on police reform could soon be coming from a task force in Prince George’s County.

The Real Reason Pedestrian Deaths Are Rising

(Click on the image for the video)

Less Traffic Results in Crashes that Cause More Fatalities

 

(Click on the image for the Texas A&M report)

In Texas: While the numbers for both multi- and single-vehicle crashes were down by 55 percent and 23 percent, respectively, the proportion of crashes with at least one fatality rose by 14 percent for single-vehicle crashes and 59 percent for multi-vehicle crashes.

Two factors affect traffic crashes: exposure and risk. Exposure is the amount of travel, and risk is the chance that travel will result in a crash, injury or death. Because there was less exposure to risk in April with fewer drivers on the road, the number of crashes went down. But fatal crashes only dropped by 20 percent during that period, so the risk of a fatal crash was greater than normal.

Speed is a primary determinant of crash severity, Wunderlich said, with a 10 percent decrease in speed producing 38 percent less fatalities and 27 percent less serious injuries.

Stay Safe When You Walk!

 

Pedestrian Deaths Spiking Along Indian Head Highway

(Click on the image for the AAA news release)

In a year upended by the coronavirus pandemic and a summer of social unrest, it is an unforeseen tragedy. Traffic deaths, overwhelmingly involving pedestrians, are spiking along Indian Head Highway (Maryland 210) in 2020, although fewer cars are traversing the highway this year. As the carnage continues to unfold on Maryland 210, at least seven persons  lost their lives in crashes on the hard-luck roadway to date. In a year like no other due to the virus, it is an unexpected development on a roadway that mercifully experienced a precipitous drop in traffic deaths in 2019.

Heading into the tenth month of this calendar year, more than the double the number of people have already perished on the star-crossed roadway, then in all of last year. That tragic tally includes five people on foot, “vulnerable highway users,” and two car deaths.  Five of those mortalities –all pedestrians - occurred within a two month period. This compares to only three fatalities along the roadway in 2019. Of the three demises in traffic on Indian Head Highway in 2019, two were foot-travelers, or 66.6 percent or two thirds.

A Faith and Blue initiative

District VII is taking part of "A Faith and Blue initiative" and partnering with St. John's Episcopal church and Grace Lutheran Church for a food drive.

Please help us with your donations of non-perishable food. Thank you!

“It’s the Call You Don’t Want to Get.”

(Click on the image for his brother's plea.)

Kenard Hawkins was killed by a hit-and-run driver in February 2018.
His brother hopes by telling his story, it will make someone else think twice about driving recklessly.

Last night someone did not think twice.

From WTOP: Last night, October 4, 2020,  "Prince George’s County police responded to the northbound lanes of Indian Head Highway, at the intersection of Salisbury Drive, around 9:35 p.m. for a crash involving a pedestrian. The man died at the scene. His identity has not yet been made public. Prince George’s County police say a car was driving north on Indian Head Highway when the man was hit and did not remain on scene."

News4’s Darcy Spencer reported on Sunday night's loss of 56-year-old Richard Spears of Oxon Hill. See https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/another-pedestrian-killed-in-hit-and-run-on-indian-head-highway/2436874/

During the First Half of 2020, Traffic Volume Decreased but the Rate of Traffic Fatalities Increased

(Click on the image for the NHTSA report)

 From the NHTSA report:

. . . "during the height of the national public health emergency and associated lockdowns, driving patterns and behaviors changed significantly, and that drivers who remained on the roads engaged in more risky behavior, including speeding, failing to wear seat belts, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Traffic data indicates that average speeds increased during the second quarter, and examples of extreme speeds became more common, while the evidence suggests that fewer people involved in crashes used their seat belts."