Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Leesburg road crashes to top of list Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 16:10:35 EST Message-ID: \SE A \HD Leesburg road crashes to top of list \BY Janet Naylor \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES About 260 feet of East Market Street in Leesburg yesterday earned the distinction of being the most dangerous section of road in the Washington region. While crowded areas in Arlington and Fairfax counties might seem more deserving of the honor, transportation officials said dangerous roads in the outlying suburbs are becoming a bigger reality every day. Every year, the American Automobile Association's Potomac chapter issues its list of the top 10 "hot spots" in the area: places on Virginia and Maryland roads where high accident rates and high traffic volumes collide to make driving dangerous. "There are these hidden corridors out there that motorists need to be aware of," AAA spokesman Robert Krebs said. Some high-accident areas might have missed the list because of the way it was compiled, he said. For this study, AAA looked only at roads traveled by more than 10,000 vehicles a day. For those roads, AAA compiled data about accidents and traffic volumes from 1990, the most recent figures available. Poor driving habits - such as tailgating, not paying attention and speeding - caused most of the accidents at the dangerous spots. Driving drunk, running red lights and failing to yield the right of way were other causes. Mr. Krebs said the study shows most accidents are caused by driver error, not highway design or safety shortcomings, although most of the hot spots are places where several roads intersect or flow into a small area. At the top of the list was East Market Street, Route 7, near the Leesburg bypass and Route 15. That stretch of Route 7 carries several thousand commuters bound for the District or other parts of Northern Virginia every day. On that 260-foot section, 64 accidents and 32 injuries were recorded in 1990. More than 27,000 vehicles use the road every day, and officials say that many of the 6,000 commuters from Loudoun County travel on the stretch. To most Leesburg-area commuters, that means a logjam at the end of a commute through the most congested parts of Northern Virginia. "You get all the way out here and boom: It's a dead stop. It's very frustrating," said Vernon Davis, who commutes from Leesburg to Rosslyn. "I don't think a lot of people think of Leesburg as a commuter town. But it is. Wake up," Mr. Krebs said. AAA compiled a separate list for the District, where traffic accidents are listed according to the nearest intersection. The worst strip of road in the city is New York Avenue NW near Fourth Street and Interstate 395. New York Avenue made the top five list at two other intersections, both in Northeast: Bladensburg Road and Florida Avenue. Amadou Barry, who works at the Sunoco gas station at New York and Florida avenues, gets to see firsthand what the AAA study describes. "There might be two or three" accidents a week there, he said, adding that he most recently saw one Saturday night. In the suburbs, several of the most dangerous roads are miles from the District. Two sites in Charles County and one stretch of Piscataway Road in Clinton made the list. Other dangerous roads making the survey were in outlying areas of Prince William and Montgomery counties. To the residents who commute through these areas to the District or the surrounding suburbs, these trouble spots are no surprise. The Washington region is growing, and these accident spots are some of its growing pains. But there are ways to avoid the dangerous areas. Andy Stoddard, who commutes from Loudoun County to Fairfax, avoids heavily traveled roads such as Routes 7 and 28. Mr. Stoddard has found an alternative, "hassle-free" way to get to work, but he won't reveal the route. "Don't publish it, because other people would take it," he said. AAA advises motorists who can't avoid the hot spots to drive defensively and stay alert. The second-worst stretch of suburban road, just longer than a tenth of a mile, is on Kings Highway, Route 241, in Fairfax County from Telegraph Road to the Alexandria border. The strip is near Beltway ramps and the convergence of several heavily traveled roads. Driver and pedestrian inattention, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and slick roads were listed as the top causes of accidents there. "I can see where driver inattention would be a big thing because there is so much information to collect there," said Norman Grimm, AAA's traffic safety manager. "You really do need to be paying a lot of attention." * Pam Weisz contributed to this report. ****MAP/BOX DANGEROUS ROADS Top five most dangerous roadways in the District. 1. New York Avenue and 4th Street NW and the Interstate 395 ramp. 2. 25th Street, L'Enfant Square, Minnesota and Pennsylvania avenues SE. 3. I and South Capital streets SE and the Southeast-Southwest Freeway. 4. New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road NE. 5. New York and Florida avenues NE. The ten most dangerous roadways in the Washington suburbs.* 1. Leesburg: East Market Street (Route 7), a 264-foot section from the city line to Route 15 in Loudoun County. 2. Fairfax County: Route 241, from Telegraph Road to the Alexandria city line, less than two-tenths of a mile. 3. Arlington County: Lee Highway, .18 mile, from the Falls Church city line to Washington Boulevard. 4. Arlington County: Columbia Pike, 1 mile, from Washington Boulevard to Glebe Road. 5. Charles County, Md: Mattowoman-Beantown Road, .25 miles, from 150 feet south of Nike Drive to 50 feet south of U.S. Route 301. 6. Arlington County: Fairfax Drive, .96 miles, from Wilson Boulevard to Glebe Road, Arlington County. 7. Arlington County: Glebe Road, 1.15 miles, from the Arlington Boulevard overpass to Wilson Boulevard. 8. Prince George's County: Piscataway Road, .48 miles, from 750 feet south of Absher Lane to 50 feet south of Clinton Street. 9. Prince William County: Sudley Road, 2.61 miles, from the Manassas city line to Route 66. 10. Montgomery County: Bird Road, .28 miles, from 450 feet south of Norwood Road to 950 feet north of Norwood Road. 10. Charles County: Leonardtown Road, .48 miles, from 100 feet south of Post Office Road to 100 feet north of Pika Drive. * Eleven intersections are listed because there is a tie for 10th place. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM