Drivers, General Assembly agree on key safety bills

Virginia (Map, News) - RICHMOND – Three out of four Northern Virginians think traffic is bad and has only gotten worse in the last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic poll numbers released Friday.

The statewide poll found that traffic was so unbearable for 19 percent of Northern Virginians that they moved or changed jobs. Overall, only 12 percent of Virginia residents made the same decision.

“To solve transportation, we need greater accountability, we need more resources, and we need a better integration of transportation and land use,” VirginiaTransportation Secretary Pierce Homer told reporters Friday.

Martha Meade, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said that while Virginia legislators continue to wrangle with each other over the solution to Virginia’s traffic woes, they are in sync with motorists on transportation safety initiatives.

“AAA Mid-Atlantic is thrilled with the actions of lawmakers, and we believe they should go home with their heads held high knowing that lives will truly be saved in Virginia because of the strong action taken this year,” Meade said.

The automobile association’s poll found that 80 percent of drivers supported a ban on cell phone usage by teenage drivers with provisional licenses. A bill prohibiting such usage by those under 18 has passed both houses.

The poll’s results, gathered in November and December, also revealed that 73 percent of drivers think red-light cameras can discourage dangerous driving at intersections. After significant debate, legislation allowing a locality to install one camera per 10,000 residents passed the legislature and is on its way to Gov. Tim Kaine.

“This is a transportation session,” said Sen. Jay O’Brien, R-Clifton, the sponsor of the teen cell phone bill. “Half of it is the funding and the road-building plan. The other half of it is driver safety.”

– CNS

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