VCU news

By Michael Kelly

Virginia Commonwealth University Police will check for a variety of safety issues during a safety checkpoint this weekend.

VCU Police will operate a checkpoint from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. starting on Saturday, June 1, along the 700 block of West Main Street. Officers will check operator licenses and vehicle registrations and review various safety issues, including seat belt usage, as part of the ongoing Click It or Ticket campaign. Any drunken or drug-impaired drivers will be arrested.

The checkpoint is supported by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Highway Safety Office and will include law enforcement personnel from the VCU Police Department, the City of Richmond Police Department and the Virginia State Police. Agents from the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control also have been invited to participate.

The VCU Police Department has made 179 DUI arrests this academic year, a 22.6 percent increase from the same point in the previous academic year. As of March 14, 8 percent of VCU Police’s DUI arrests involved VCU students.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 64 percent of people killed in crashes from ages 21 to 24 were not wearing seat belts, the highest percentage among all age groups. In 2011, 21,253 occupants of vehicles died in traffic crashes and more than half those fatalities involved passengers not wearing a seat belt. Seat belts saved an estimated 11,949 lives among vehicle occupants age five and older, yet only 84 percent of vehicle occupants used their seat belts.

The VCU Police Department joins the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other agencies in calling on all drivers, regardless of age or experience, to use their seat belts every time they get in a car, whether they are a passenger or driver. Parents and caretakers should also ensure children are properly restrained in correctly installed, size-appropriate child car seats.

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Editor’s Note: A staging area will be established for media and other official observers. VCU Police Capt. Mike O’Berry will be available for interviews. Reporters interested in receiving results from the checkpoint should provide contact information to police at the scene.