Since it began collecting near-miss data for local roads in 2021, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets has accumulated more evidence that such close calls between drivers and other travelers reflect patterns of behavior, rather than random or one-time slip-ups.
More than 70% or 94 of the 129 near-misses reported by community members in Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church between January 2025 and June of this year were marked as recurring incidents, according to an analysis released by the volunteer-led safety advocacy organization on Sept. 10.
“The report finds that dangerous conditions for pedestrians and cyclists in Fairfax are not random or isolated,” NoVA FSS said in a press release. “They are concentrated at a small number of known locations and driven by a consistent set of driver behaviors.”
Many reports flagged corridors like Gallows Road and Leesburg Pike (Route 7) where there have been fatal crashes over the past year. In fact, pedestrians were killed in separate crashes on Gallows Road in Merrifield and on Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners on the same night (June 18) this summer.
Fairfax County has seen 15 pedestrian fatalities on its roads so far this year, with the most recent death coming on Friday (Sept. 18) when a driver struck a woman crossing Route 50 near Greenbriar Town Center in a wheelchair. In addition, a 13-year-old Frost Middle School student was killed in a crash while bicycling on Pickett Road in Fairfax City on Sept. 9, and there have been two fatal crashes this year involving electric scooters, including one that killed a 9-year-old rider.
“These numbers show that near-miss reports are early warning signs of serious and fatal crashes, not isolated close calls,” the advocacy group said.
According to the study, which covered the period from January 2025 through June 2026, the corridors with the most near-miss reports were Gallows Road, Lake Newport Road, Reston Parkway, Collingwood Road in Fort Hunt, and Fairfax Blvd. With the exception of Collingwood Road, those areas were also flagged as hotspots in NoVA FSS’ previous Near Miss Report for January 2024 through July 2025.
The crosswalk on Gallows Road at Aston Street near Woodburn Elementary School in Annandale was the subject of nine reports this time, almost three times more than any other location. The site was also the primary hotspot in the Mason District in the 2024-2025 report.
“While crossing at a crosswalk in front of Woodburn elementary school a car refused to stop for my son and I. The[y] proceeded to honk and drive through the crosswalk,” one report from March 4 said.
Another from Jan. 22 reported seeing two drivers nearly hit a teen who was crossing Gallows without slowing down or acknowledging him, even though he had activated the flashing pedestrian lights installed at the crosswalk.
Data from an insurance-based mobile app that tracks driver behaviors indicated that speeds are “significantly higher” on Gallows Road near Woodburn Elementary than any other roads in the area, which is mostly residential, according to the NoVA FSS report. A Brightview senior assisted living community is also near the crosswalk.
The site was one of several locations with near-miss reports that highlighted risky driving behaviors near schools, including Lake Newport Road, which passes Armstrong Elementary School in Reston, and Haycock Road near Haycock Elementary in Idylwood.
“Due to the curvature of the road it is difficult for drivers to visibly identify pedestrians and slow down in a safe, reasonable time,” a Jan. 2 report said about Lake Newport Road. “The poor visibility, unsafe driving speeds, and high foot traffic area makes each crossing considerably dangerous.”
Another report contended that a speed hump or flashing sign is needed for the crosswalk at Autumn Ridge Court.
For Haycock Road, one report noted that an additional $200 penalty for speeding near Westmoreland Street “is rarely enforced,” while another said drivers have adopted a “bizarre habit” of driving on the wrong side of the street to turn onto Casemont Drive, apparently to avoid a traffic light at the Great Falls Street intersection.
Fairfax County and Falls Church City have been collaborating on a project to add a shared-use path and other pedestrian improvements on Haycock and Shreve roads near Meridian High School. The county is also planning to add a marked crosswalk at Casemont Drive as part of an initiative to devote $100 million to active transportation projects.
According to NoVA FSS, children were present in 70 or 54% of the 129 submitted near-miss reports, reinforcing safety concerns that gained urgency after Fairfax County removed crossing guards from high schools at the start of the 2026-2027 school year. The county board voted last week to restore funding for 11 crossings at least through the end of this fiscal year, which concludes on June 30, 2027.
In incidents where children were present, community members reported drivers failing to yield as an issue in 64% of reports, followed by speeding (36%) and distracted driving (20%). Failure to yield and speeding were also the most frequently cited issues overall.
“This points toward yield focused fixes such as signal timing and right on red restrictions, not speed enforcement alone,” the report said, noting that most of the near-miss incidents occurred on roads with speed limits of 25 to 35 mph.
The Mason, Providence and Hunter Mill districts saw the largest concentration of near-miss reports, a slight change from last year, when Franconia joined Hunter Mill and Providence as the top three.
NoVA FSS acknowledged that its data is inevitably skewed toward communities where people are more aware of its efforts to collect near-miss data and are more likely to report incidents. The southern and southeastern regions of the county remain underrepresented, though the organization is trying to address that by offering different options for accessing its survey by text, Whats App and online.
The group also published a report earlier this year specifically focused on pedestrian and bicycle safety issues in the Richmond Highway corridor.
Based on the findings of its latest analysis, NoVA FSS recommended that county and state officials pursue a variety of improvements to address infrastructure, enforcement and educational gaps:
Engineering: Install rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs), HAWK signals, and improve overhead street lighting at the highest-report crosswalks — including Gallows Road, Jermantown Road, Prosperity Avenue, and Lake Newport Road — along with traffic calming, continuous sidewalks near schools, and vegetation clearing at low-visibility intersections.
Enforcement: Expand the deployment of speed safety cameras on high crash corridors and stop-sign cameras in school zones, as newly permitted under Virginia legislation effective July 2026, and enforce restrictions on no right turns on red near schools and high-foot-traffic areas. In addition, permanently install speed feedback signs on selected residential roads throughout the County.
Education & Community: Expand outreach for the Near Miss Survey into underserved communities and lower response districts and continue promoting pedestrian and cyclist safety awareness around schools. NoVA FSS conducts pedestrian educational programs in middle schools and distracted driving programs for high school students in Alexandria and Arlington. We welcome the opportunity to run similar programs in FCPS schools this 2026/2027 school year.
The full Near Miss Survey report, including additional streets flagged as hot spots, can be found on the NoVA FSS website. The organization also collects data for Arlington County and Alexandria City.
