Virginia State Police will be out in numbers on Interstate 64 this week

The marketing-minded folks with the Virginia State Police chose a dumb name for their summertime traffic enforcement push.

Operation DISS-RUPT – the acronym sorta, kinda spells out Distracted driving, Impaired driving,  Speed compliance and Seat belt safety – runs over a 48-hour period on Thursday and Friday of this week along the 299 miles of Interstate 64 in the Commonwealth.

The name is dumb, but the goal is noble – zero fatal crashes during the 48-hour enforcement period.

As of when the VSP sent us the release announcing Operation DISS-RUPT, back on Aug. 12, 433 people had died in a crash on a Virginia roadway so far this year, a 13 percent decrease when compared to the same time last year.

There were 495 fatalities over the same time period last year.

Sixty-nine pedestrians had been struck and killed in Virginia this year as of that Aug. 12 cutoff, a 16 percent decrease when compared to pedestrian deaths in Virginia the same time last year (82 in 2025).

During Operation DISS-RUPT, additional troopers will patrol on Interstate 64 across the commonwealth and focus on the following driving behaviors:

• Ditch distractions: Virginia is “Hands-Free” which prohibits drivers from holding personal communications devices while driving. The use of GPS and phone calls are legal, as long as the device is not in your hands.
• Never drive impaired: Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs is illegal in Virginia. Even buzzed driving is drunk driving. Always designate a sober driver, use public transportation, or a ride-sharing service.
• Comply with speed limits: Posted speed limits on Virginia interstates never exceed 70 mph. So, neither should your speed. Speed-related crashes claimed 342 lives in 2025 in Virginia.

• Seat belt safety: Virginia law requires all occupants of motor vehicles to be restrained.

Virginia State Police also conducted an Operation DISS-RUPT  on Interstate 64 over a 48-hour period on Feb. 5-6.

During that time, troopers wrote 87 citations for speeding and 57 citations for reckless driving.

There were six seatbelt violations and no fatal crashes.