RICHMOND – Virginia State Police troopers will be on the roads in numbers over the Labor Day holiday this weekend, using their presence to stress safety. While traffic fatalities are down this year, during Independence Day holiday, there were 18 fatalities in the Commonwealth.* Virginia State Police will be increasing visibility and staffing over Labor Day weekend, especially on Sept. 4 and Sept. 7 in order to keep the roads safe. Those two days are expected to be the busiest days of travel.
Preliminary data shows as of Aug. 31, 2026, there have been 480 fatalities on Virginia roads this year. There were 542 during the same period in 2025.
“Troopers know wearing a seatbelt, driving the speed limit, avoiding distractions, and driving sober saves lives, and we know that our presence on the roads reminds people of those facts,” said Lieutenant Colonel Todd Taylor, director of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Field Operations. “We want drivers to do all they can to make this a safe and enjoyable holiday for everyone.”
As part of its efforts to increase safety and reduce traffic fatalities on Virginia’s highways during the Labor Day holiday, Virginia State Police will be joining law enforcement around the country for the Operation Crash Awareness Reduction Effort (C.A.R.E), a state-sponsored, national program intended to reduce crashes, fatalities, and injuries due to impaired driving, speeding, and failing to wear a seat belt. The Labor Day statistical counting period will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, and end at midnight on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.
During the 2025 statistical counting period, Virginia State Police troopers cited 3,018 drivers for speeding and 1,370 drivers for reckless driving. Sixty-two people were charged with driving under the influence. There were 499 seat belt violations and 116 child restraint violations. In total, troopers responded to 767 crashes.
Funds generated from summonses issued by Virginia State Police go directly to court fees and the state’s Literary Fund, which benefits public school construction, technology funding and teacher retirement.
*https://www.treds.virginia.gov/UI/Reports/Public/InteractiveReport.aspx?ReportPath=/Interactive%20Crash%20Reports/Interactive%20Report