Drivers near Haycock Elementary School have been veering into oncoming lanes to dodge a traffic light on Haycock Road, according to a new pedestrian safety report.
The behavior is one of several dangerous patterns documented in the Dranesville District section of a near-miss analysis released Sept. 10 by Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS). The report, first reported by FFXnow, examined 129 incidents that community members in Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church reported between January 2025 and June 2026.
Of those 129 reports, 94 described recurring problems rather than one-time events. Children were present in 70 of them.
Haycock Road in Idylwood is named as the Dranesville District case study. One report described drivers crossing into oncoming lanes to turn onto Casemont Drive, apparently to avoid the traffic light at the Great Falls Street intersection. A community member called it a "bizarre habit." A separate report noted that an additional $200 speeding penalty near Westmoreland Street "is rarely enforced."
NoVA FSS said in a statement that dangerous conditions for pedestrians and cyclists in Fairfax are concentrated at a small number of known locations, driven by a consistent set of driver behaviors.
Most near-misses occurred on roads with speed limits between 25 and 35 mph. When children were present, drivers failing to yield was the top issue in 64% of reports, followed by speeding at 36% and distracted driving at 20%.
The Mason, Providence and Hunter Mill districts saw the largest concentration of reports countywide. Gallows Road, Lake Newport Road, Reston Parkway, Collingwood Road in Fort Hunt and Fairfax Blvd. had the most individual reports. Haycock Road did not rank among those top corridors but drew attention as a district-level case study because of the specific behaviors documented there.
Fairfax County had recorded 15 pedestrian fatalities on its roads in 2026 as of Sept. 21, according to FFXnow.
The report recommends installing rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) and HAWK signals at the highest-report crosswalks, expanding speed and stop-sign camera enforcement in school zones, building continuous sidewalks near schools and clearing vegetation at low-visibility intersections. A Virginia law that took effect July 1 now allows localities to deploy AI-powered cameras to enforce stop-sign and crosswalk violations in school zones, though each locality must approve adoption separately.
NoVA FSS also said it wants to bring pedestrian education programs to Fairfax County Public Schools during the 2026-2027 school year, expanding efforts it already runs in Alexandria and Arlington.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman told the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 15 that the county needs data-driven criteria for safety decisions. "We need to identify the locations with documented safety and risk, and we need to set up that criteria and those assessments," he said during a discussion about restoring crossing guards, as reported by Patch. The board voted the week of Sept. 15 to fund 11 crossing guard positions through June 30, 2027.
Some infrastructure improvements are already in the pipeline. The county is planning a marked crosswalk at Casemont Drive as part of a $100 million commitment to active transportation projects. As a condition of county approval of the West Falls Church Metro redevelopment, developers committed to a shared-use trail on the north side of Haycock Road over I-66 and turn-lane improvements at the Great Falls Street intersection, according to FFXnow. Fairfax County and Falls Church have also been collaborating on a shared-use path and pedestrian improvements on Haycock and Shreve roads near Meridian High School.
NoVA FSS acknowledged its data skews toward communities more aware of its survey. Southern and southeastern Fairfax County remain underrepresented.
No date for county action on the report's recommendations has been announced. Residents can report near-miss incidents through the NoVA FSS survey at novasafestreets.org.
