As part of a statewide effort, on the weekend of April 17 and 18, law enforcement will conduct enhanced efforts on speeding, improper licensure, drinking and riding, and other infractions that are major risks to the safety of motorcyclists

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First-year delegate, Thomas “Tag” Greason (R-eastern Loudoun), has introduced legislation in Virginia’s General Assembly that would allow those riding two-wheeled vehicles to pass through red traffic lights.

Greason said the idea for the bill arose in December after noticing that large amounts of snow piled at intersections prevented vehicles from triggering sensors that activate green traffic signals. Seeing this, he figured the issue likely posed even more of a hassle for smaller vehicles, like motorcycles. Then, over casual conversation with another delegate, he learned that South Carolina recently enacted a law that allowed motorcyclists to treat red lights like stop signs. So why not in Virginia, he thought.

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The 469-mile scenic highway drew 18.25 million visitors last year, down from 19.29 million in 2007, according to statistics from the National Park Service.

The 2008 visitation was the lowest in the past eight years and the first time below 19 million during that span.

Parkway officials have not traced a cause for the decrease in visitors, and Scott Bell, the Park Service official who tallies visits, declined to speculate.

Campgrounds along the parkway’s first 106 miles — which includes Bedford, Amherst and Nelson counties — saw fewer out-of-state visitors last year than normal, said Randy Sutton, an interpretive ranger for the parkway’s Ridge District.

Bikers along the East Coast usually flock to the ridge-top road, he said, but 2008 saw less motorcycle traffic, leading to a reduction in accidents.

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In 1995 the Virginia State Legislature authorised red light cameras for a 10-year period concluding 1 July, 2005. Commencing in September 2004 through 1 July 2005 and resulting from a successful competitive tender, Redflex and Virginia Beach implemented a highly successful red light camera programme that reduced red light running crashes by 40 per cent at the monitored intersections.

In 2005, the Virginia General Assembly did not renew this enabling legislation and as a result, effective 1 July 2005, all municipalities across Virginia were required to terminate their respective contracts and indefinitely shut down their programmes.

In 2007 the General Assembly enacted new legislation allowing communities to implement comprehensive red light camera programmes, with cities being allowed to enforce one intersection for every 10,000 residents.

As Karen Finley, CEO of Redflex Traffic Systems explains, Redflex has been an active leader in legislative initiatives in more than half of the 21 states in which it operates. To ensure the industry’s successful propagation, the company has made a strategic investment in a team of
legislative experts with a keen knowledge of working the delicate, formal, legislative processes and grass root efforts.

“When the original 1995 Virginia photo enforcement legislation was not renewed, we implemented a focused legislative effort: two-years later, these efforts were successfully received by the Virginia General Assembly as referenced by the state-wide enablement of photo enforcement programmes,” Finley said. “As the largest municipality in Virginia, it was a great validation to be awarded the Virginia Beach photo enforcement contract through two separate competitive tenders at two
points in time; firstly in 2004 and more recently in 2008,” she added.