Within the last two weeks, there have been two accidents on U.S. Route 13, one of them involving fatalities. The first was located near mile post 74.78 at Capeville Crossroad, and occurred on Saturday afternoon about 1:15. Four persons were killed and the traffic had to be rerouted for close to five hours. The Second was November 16th at the Cape Charles Stop light at about 4:30 in the afternoon. The first accident was determined to be driver error—the Southbound Tractor Trailer attempted to avoid the crash by swerving to the left, however the crossing vehicle, continued through the intersection and collided.
More worrisome, if this had occurred during heavy traffic weekends, such Memorial Day or Labor Day, it could have been a major disaster. The tractor trailer, after the collision, came to rest in the north bound lane. Head on collisions would have been very likely.
Note: Reader submitted information that there were actually three accidents in this time period. Two occurred on the same day at the Cape Charles light, just hours apart.
For those that use 13 each day to travel to work or school, witnessing dangerous events is common. We see cars and semis traveling at high rates of speed, trying to make time and taking chances. Studies show that the average speed of cars traveling into the Food Lion/Stone Road section are close to 60mph going south, but over 60 mph heading North. With buses stopping, and cars turning, those speeds seem excessive.
A five-year study by VDOT shows that Twenty-six (26) crashes occurred within this quarter-mile segment. From the report, “Sixty (60) percent of the crashes were intersection related with 30 percent angle crashes and 30 percent rear end crashes. Fifteen (15) percent were deer crashes. The one pedestrian crash resulted in fatality. Half of the crashes resulted in injuries and half in property damage only. Four (4) of the crashes occurred at the shopping center driveway all with injuries. Slightly less than half of the crashes occurred during nighttime conditions, and 60 percent occurred in the northbound direction.”
Key safety concerns continue to be buses that stop unexpectedly at the railroad crossing that is adjacent to the track signal. Some of the rear end crashes were associated with buses stopping at the tracks. Other concerns are nighttime crashes.
Note: Citizens have voiced concerns that the new Royal Farms near the Kiptopeke Inn lacks a thorough and up to date traffic safety analysis. Previous reports show concern for a lack of positive guidance for drivers, as well as a lack of recovery space for vehicles to stay on the road or recover from driving on the road.
While we understand that the Northampton Board of Supervisors is concerned about traffic safety, consensus has been that VDOT is not going to do anything until more people are killed. For citizens, how many of us must die before the State does something? While many travelers treat our 13 as a high-speed thoroughfare from New Jersey or Pennsylvania to the Outer Banks, an alternative to Interstate 95, it is in fact a local roadway, with houses and driveways and slow turnoffs.
For residents of the Shore, waiting for the body count to rise high enough before VDOT reconciles the competing aspects of U.S. 13’s personality, is unacceptable.
Roulette
The Worst , cross over is Russian Roulette, cell phones are distraction, Food Lion approach a night mare, driving left lane no penalty, VDOT wake up.
What can we, as citizens, do to get this changed? Can we petition VDOT?? I have a lot of good suggestions from other residents, but don’t know the steps to take to get our case in front of the powers that be!
Note: Best bet is contact District 1 Supervisor Granville Hogg (ghogg@co.northampton.va.us). He is our best advocate for highway safety.
Thanks! E-mail being sent today!!!
In other countries, highways such as Route 13 have “traffic-calming” measures in place in the form of roundabouts or traffic circles–with or without additional traffic lights. The roundabouts slow traffic at regular intervals and prevent the “yellow means floor it” mentality that prevails under the current scheme. It is true that for tractor-trailers to negotiate the roundabouts, they need to be a certain size, but there are areas that could accommodate this and others that could be purchased. The safety benefit would be well worth it.
NJ pioneered the traffic circle & they are a disaster. They asked a state trooper some years ago to say what part of 13 was the most dangerous & he said “from the Bridge Tunnel to the Maryland line. It was reported at the time that Accomack County was tied with one other Virginia county for having the most dangerous driving conditions in the entire state.
Engineering is a big part of the problem with in places narrow shoulders & telephones poles right next to the pavement as well as narrow or non-existent medians seperating the north & south bound traffic. In my opinion there are perhaps too many traffic signals on 13 and all the signals go red for 13 too quickly and too often. Every time a signal goes red there is a potential for rear end collissions & some of these have been disasters with 18 wheelers going over the tops of two or more cars. On 13 a light should hold green for perhaps no less than 2 minutes & then let cross & turning traffic proceed. There are too many cycles or phases where for each turning vehicle another red for 13. Ambers should be for the speeds of ample dua=ration with all lights red for a second or so. Even professional drivers are not clear as what to do when a light goes amber & there are ways to make evident whether to brake or keep going. Professional drivers know a green light to be “fresh” or|”stale” & if a stop is imminent.
Another problem is enforcement. Rarely, if ever, is a car stopped for running a light. With radar speeders are often ticketed and many hard core violators have detectors & always speed but are never caught. There are many dangerous violations that are not notices such as irratic driving; an indication of drug or alcohol impairment.
It used to aggravate me how often I was stopped in a check point at 10 am as I was 300 yards from my driveway going for my mail. So many troopers (10) in the same location with all the police cars & people who were in violation were turning around in my driveway & on another road in my neighbor’s driveway or turning to go down yet another road thus avoiding the check point. One morning a trooper caught wise & I had a police car & a violator in my drive followed by another trooper & a roll back.
In my opinion it was a waste of police man powere & a waste of the same honest people’s time over & over when the 10 troopers could be observing traffic & probably catching far worse & even more offenders than the few illegals or unlicensed operators or ficticious tags such as red light violators, speeders, DWI’s & drug runners, etc.
Education is anothe key to safety & a big thing to know is don’t rely on a green light, ever. Always be preparedto avoid a crash.
There are things beyond control like using a car to commit suicide and for sure the policecan’t be everywhere or see what isn’t obvious. My sons drive big rigs & being up high see very many who are texting. People do stupid things like pull out in front of other vehicles, perhaps dump trucks or tractor trailers. Perhaps poor vision, my eyes were failing & I quit driving after a lifetime of accident free operating everything except planes & choppers, or blinding sun light.