Operation Safe Corridor is over. But for 5,412 motorists and pedestrians, it is not forgotten.
That is the total number of "contacts," as it is so politely put by the Fairfax County Police, that were made over the six-week crackdown on unsafe driving and pedestrian crossings along Richmond Highway.
Initiated March 1 as a joint effort between the Mount Vernon and Franconia police stations to stem the increasing tide of auto and pedestrian accidents that have led to multiple deaths since Jan. 1, it was the single largest traffic-calming campaign ever undertaken in the county, according to Lt. Daniel J. Townsend, acting commander, Mount Vernon Station, Fairfax County Police Department.
At its conclusion on April 15, the countywide Motor Squad had handed out 2,945 tickets, Mount Vernon officers had written 2,169, and Franconia officers totaled 33 citations. "The Franconia officers were only responsible for a short stretch along Route 1 to the Fairfax County Parkway intersection," Townsend clarified.
Of the total contacts, 265 were with pedestrians. "Most of those were only given warnings," Townsend said. "This was far more of an education and information-collection campaign for them. But we did write eight actual tickets to pedestrians. All the rest were warnings."
THE PRIMARY PURPOSE of the pedestrian contacts was to encourage them to use crosswalks and to learn why they were not doing so, according to Townsend. "The overwhelming response to why they were not using crosswalks was that the nearest one to where they wanted to cross was too far," he explained.
The total number of the summons issued covered the full gamut of violations, such as speeding, reckless driving, improper operation and any other infraction spotted by officers. "The reason it was undertaken for such a short period is that it was very intensive. There were 12 to 20 squads working on this every day for six weeks," Townsend noted.
"We wouldn't have been nearly as successful if it hadn't been for our auxiliary volunteers. These guys and gals have just been fantastic," Townsend said.
Auxiliary volunteers are individuals who volunteer their time to work with the police. "They all have full-time jobs. They come in on their own time for training and duty. They are uniformed but do not carry weapons. They can write summons if they are accompanied by a sworn police officer," Townsend said.
"Each station has a different number. We usually have between seven and eight at Mount Vernon Station. There are different levels of proficiency, depending on training. During this campaign, one Saturday, the auxiliary volunteers targeted just pedestrians, gathering information and working on educating them about traffic safety," Townsend said.
SOME OF THE valuable data collected during Operation Safe Corridor included the following:
* The most dangerous areas are the intersections with Route 1 at Huntington, Telegraph, Sacramento and the Fairfax County Parkway;
* The two worst spots for potential accidents were at the Ladson Lane and Lockheed Boulevard intersections;
* Pedestrians are putting convenience ahead of safety in crossing Route 1.
When asked what happens now, Townsend answered, "We intend to follow up with unannounced mini campaigns. This time we let everybody know what we were doing and when. It was more in the spirit of fair play. That's over. No more fair play. We also intend to concentrate more on enforcement than education."
Some of those who received summonses during Operation Safe Corridor might question the definition of "fair play." One of the deceptions used during the recently completed campaign was placing officers with radar guns in a bucket truck well above the highway.
During a presentation at the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce luncheon on April 2, Townsend rhetorically asked if it was fair, when explaining the cherry-picker tactic. He answered his own question by stating, "The answer is that it is one way of getting the job done."
That job is to reduce the number of accidents and deaths along the Route 1 corridor. Even though Operation Safe Corridor has concluded, in the words of Yogi Berra, "It ain't over till it's over."