After issuing more than 10,000 traffic citations in early June, police are preparing to resume a traffic safety campaign targeting reckless drivers, speeding, and distracted driving later this summer.
The third phase of the “Road Shark” initiative, led by the Fairfax County Police Department in partnership with Virginia State Police, will begin Aug. 10.
The annual campaign, which occurs in three waves, began at the end of April. During that time, 13,520 citations and warnings were issued.
During the campaign’s second phase, which ran from June 8-14, officers issued 5,740 citations and 6,051 warnings. That’s up from 8,250 citations and warnings during the second wave the previous year.
Fairfax County has experienced a spate of fatal crashes over the past week, with five occurring over the course of two days. Four of them killed pedestrians, while a fifth ended in the death of a motorcyclist. All of the incidents involved preventable risks.
“The pedestrians involved, or the drivers involved, some of them had alcohol in their system,” FCPD Deputy Chief Dalton Becker said during a press conference last week. “Some were charged with DUI; others are pending lab analysis in the next few days. That, or speed, or other types of reckless driving, is involved in all of these.”
The recent crashes pushed the pedestrian death toll to 10 on county roads this year.
