Virginia State Police: 849 crashes, 87 with injuries from Tuesday’s winter storm

Virginia State Police reported 849 crashes from midnight yesterday morning through 7 a.m. today due to road conditions from a winter storm that brought heavy snow to the state on Tuesday.

VSP said there were 87 crashes statewide with reported injuries, and no fatalities in the the 31-hour timeframe.

Division 1: There have been 195 total crashes, 25 of which involved injuries.  Includes the cities of Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights, and the counties of Amelia, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Essex, Goochland, Henrico, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Louisa, New Kent, Northumberland, Nottoway, Prince George, Powhatan, Richmond, and Westmoreland.

Wytheville division: There have been 111 crashes, nine of which had reported injuries. Includes the majority of southwestern Virginia.

Appomattox division: There have been 108 crashes, seven of which had reported injuries. Includes much of western/central Virginia including Staunton, Charlottesville, Lynchburg and South Boston.

Fairfax division: There have been 84 crashes, 13 of which had reported injuries. Includes the majority of northern Virginia.

State Police continue to encourage drivers to stay off the roads during the storm and allow the Virginia Department of Transportation and other emergency crews more space to work.

Tips for drivers

• Use headlights. Increasing your visibility helps you to avoid slick and dangerous spots on the road, as well as helps other drivers see you better.
• Slow your speed. Though state police works closely with VDOT to identify problem areas on Virginia’s highways during a winter storm, drivers still must drive for conditions. Slowing your speed gives you more time to safely react and avoid a crash. Drive your vehicle based on your ability to properly maintain control of your vehicle.
• Don’t tailgate. You need increased stopping distance on slick road surfaces. Give yourself more space between vehicles traveling ahead of you to avoid rear end collisions.
• Buckle up. Most crashes that occur during winter weather are caused by vehicles sliding into guardrails, off the road or other vehicles. Wearing your seat belt protects you from being thrown around the inside of your vehicle and suffering serious injury in a crash.
• Check your vehicle. Make sure your vehicle is in good working order for the conditions. Fill up the tank in advance. Check windshield wipers, windshield wiper fluid, tire tread, battery life, etc.
• Don’t leave home without a window scraper, blanket, bottled water, snack, cell phone charger and flashlight.

For the latest road conditions, call 511 on a cell phone or go online to www.511virginia.org