Slow Down: Officers Target Speeders on the Fairfax County Parkway

A two-week initiative targeting speeders and reckless drivers on the Fairfax County Parkway will begin this Sunday. 

“The intent of the initiative is to reduce the speed on the parkway and the number of fatal crashes,” said officer Bud Walker, a spokesman for the Fairfax County Police Department.

Squad officers and Virginia State Troopers will be out in full force using marked and unmarked vehicles to pull over drivers going above the 50 mile-per-hour speed limit as part of the '50 Means 50' campaign, Walker said.

Since 2004, there have been 14 fatal crashes on the Fairfax County and Franconia-Springfield parkway. This year alone, one fatal crash has been reported along with 58 other crashes that resulted in injuries, Walker said.

“People are getting hurt out there,” Walker said. 

Paul Connolly, who lives in Springfield and uses the parkway on his daily commute, said that he frequently notices aggressive drivers and that he was happy to hear about the stepped-up enforcement.

“Some drivers get very aggressive during rush hours,” Connolly wrote in response to a Facebook posting about the news. “It's like ‘Lord of the Flies’ on wheels.”