After collecting reports on hundreds of near-miss crashes over the last year and a half, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets is calling on Alexandria to deploy new authority over stop sign cameras and other measures to address driver behaviors.
Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets, which includes an Alexandria chapter, collected 241 near-miss reports in the city between January 2025 and June 2026. While crashes are recorded on the city’s dashboard, the organization takes resident reports of near-misses by text and online survey.
In 76% of the reports, failure to yield was cited as the top driver behavior contributing to the near-misses. Speeding was identified in 36% of reports, and running red lights or stop signs was cited in 35%.
“It’s a problem throughout Northern Virginia, and it’s a particular problem in Alexandria,” Mike Doyle, a crash survivor who founded Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVAFSS) and Alexandria Families for Safe Streets, told ALXnow. “Drivers are not coming to a complete stop at a crossing where technically, legally, the pedestrian or cyclist have the right of way.”
Near-miss incidents are most often reported between 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. Many of the near-miss reports are concentrated around Old Town and Del Ray, which have high pedestrian activity. Doyle says Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets is working to improve outreach to underserved communities in the West End and Arlandria, where crashes are documented but near-misses may be underreported.
“They’re the ones that are most at risk, suffer the most, and we’re not getting their input on safety in the community, so it’s something we’re trying to improve,” Doyle said.
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