CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- People who have lost loved ones in traffic crashes and road safety advocates will gather at Virginia State Police headquarters in Chesterfield County on Sunday to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
It comes at a time when crash statistics in Virginia are on the rise.
According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), there were 129,244 crashes in 2024, compared to 127,597 in 2023. There were 918 deaths in 2024, compared to 907 in 2023.
And while the number of those deadly crashes that were speed-related or because someone was not wearing a seatbelt decreased, the number of alcohol-related deaths went up 8.5% from 293 in 2023 to 318 in 2024.
"We're very excited to bring everyone together, not just to honor their memory, but also for our commitment to the future endeavors to make sure that we're coming together as advocates, as legislators, and making sure that there is a plan to get us to Vision Zero, which would be zero deaths on our roadways," said Tammy McGee, one of the event's organizers.
McGee is the executive director of the Gweedo Memorial Foundation, which she created in memory of her son, Connor, who died in 2019 at the age of 16 in a crash caused by an unlicensed, underage driver.
McGee successfully lobbied for legislative changes in this year's General Assembly session, inspired by her son's case, and said she and others will be back in Richmond in 2026 to advocate for more changes to make Virginia's roads safer.
"We are working on two pieces of legislation, one in particular to give some clarity and information to the public on our third-party driving schools here in Virginia. We want to make sure that parents have the ability to find out whether that school has been sanctioned, whether that school is in good standing, to make sure that there aren't pending issues with that School before they choose to send their child to that driving school," said McGee.
She added another piece of legislation is to make the requirements to get a driver's license the same whether you are 16- or 18-years-old.
"What that means, basically, is, if you wait until 18 to get your driver's license, you don't have to do quite as much as if you would if you wanted to get your license at 16. And so, unfortunately, what that means for a lot of teenagers and the trend that we're seeing is that people are waiting much longer to get their driver's license. But the reality is, they're driving anyway. They're just driving unlicensed," said McGee. "And so, we don't want to be perpetuating unlicensed driving here in Virginia. So, we're going to look at adjusting those standards to make sure that it's the same for every teenager from age 16 to 18 here in the Commonwealth."
Because Sunday's service is at a secured state facility, they are asking people to register ahead of time. You can do that here.
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