The Heart of Virginia saw approximately 658 traffic accidents in 2017 compared to a total of 741 accidents in 2016, according to traffic crash data provided by the Traffic Records Electronic Data System (TREDS), a database compiled by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Buckingham County saw 206 accidents in 2017, according to the TREDS. Five accidents resulted in a combined total of seven fatalities, 74 accidents resulted in injuries and 127 resulted in property damage. One accident that resulted in a fatality was alcohol related, one was speed related, three involved unrestrained persons, two involved pedestrians, one involved a distraction and one involved a driver who was 65 or older.

Seven accidents that resulted in injuries were alcohol related, 25 were speed related, 18 involved unrestrained persons, 15 involved distractions, 12 involved drivers aged 65 or older, four involved motorcycles, two involved deer, four occurred in work zones and 11 involved young drivers aged 15- 20.

Most accidents in Buckingham occurred on James Anderson Highway, with a total of 60, while Constitution Route saw 33 accidents.

In 2016, Buckingham saw a total of 248 accidents.

Cumberland County saw 93 accidents in 2017, according to the TREDS. Three accidents resulted in a combined total of four fatalities, 37 accidents resulted in injuries and 53 resulted in property damage. Cumberland Road saw the most accidents, with 25 total, and Anderson Highway saw the second most, with 17 total.

Cumberland saw a total of 113 accidents in 2016.

In Prince Edward County there were 339 accidents total, according to the TREDS. Seven accidents resulted in fatalities, 131 resulted in injuries and 201 resulted in property damage. Three of the accidents that resulted in fatalities involved unrestrained persons, one involved a pedestrian and two involved young drivers aged 15-20. Of the accidents that resulted in injuries, 16 were alcohol related, 31 were speed related, 20 involved unrestrained persons, four involved pedestrians, 20 involved distractions, one involved a cell phone, 40 involved young drivers aged 15- 20, 23 involved drivers 65 or older, one involved a moped, two involved a motorcycle, two involved large trucks, one was in a school zone, three were in work zones and three involved deer.

Prince Edward Highway saw the most accidents, with 72. Main Street followed, with 55 accidents. Farmville Road and Third Street also saw many accidents, 34 and 27 respectively.

Prince Edward saw a total of 380 accidents in 2016.

According to a previous interview with DMV spokeswoman Brandy Brubaker, the Crash Locations Map’s state of current information is dependent on law enforcement agencies from across the state.

“We get our information from law enforcement departments all over the state, so when we get the report from them, it’s entered into our system,” Brubaker said. “… Sometimes there’s a lag behind for some of the reports, though, because maybe an officer is still investigating or hasn’t come back on duty to complete the report and that, in that case, we like to say that 2017 statistics are preliminary until we close out the year.“

Brubaker said the DMV has given the public access to the Traffic Records Electronic Data System since Aug. 2011.

“DMV is Virginia’s repository for Virginia crash reports, and I don’t think a lot of people realize that,” Brubaker said. “Like I said, all the departments from the state send their crash reports to us. …”

The Crash Locations Map can be accessed at: www.treds.virginia.gov/ Mapping/Map/CrashesByJurisdiction.