Roanoke County Police say they will begin three weeks of “targeted enforcement” today on Electric Road near Tanglewood Mall in hopes of reducing the number accidents on that half-mile stretch of road. Police say almost one in five Roanoke County accidents they investigate occur on Electric Road — and more than anywhere else, between Starkey and Franklin Roads. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Here is the full Roanoke County Police news release:
ROANOKE COUNTY, VA (July 26, 2012) – The Roanoke County Police Department will be conducting a three week targeted enforcement on Electric Road beginning July 30, 2012. The enforcement will be focused on the approximate half mile stretch of Electric Road between Starkey Road and Franklin Road. An analysis of traffic crashes in Roanoke County during 2011 determined that 18% of the crashes occurred on Electric Road. The Tanglewood Mall area of Electric Road had the highest portion of these crashes. Most of these crashes occurred Monday through Friday between the hours of Noon and 6:00 PM.
The top reasons for these crashes were following too closely, right of way issues, traffic signal violations, and improper lane changes. During the three week campaign, officers will specifically target these and related violations in order to reduce the number of crashes occurring in this area.
