ray.reed@roanoke.com 981-3351

A Washington group that serves as a voice for road builders says Virginia drivers pay a hidden cost of several hundred dollars per year for bad roads.

The Road Information Program held news conferences Thursday in Washington, Richmond, Roanoke and Hampton Roads to explain - in dollar terms - the effect of serious crashes, rough roads and congestion.

The group, known as TRIP, said traffic statistics and road conditions show that the average driver in the Roanoke area pays $874 a year for inadequate roads. TRIP compared it to a hidden tax.

TRIP spokesman Frank Moretti said the cost means a vehicle owner will need to buy a replacement vehicle sooner.

TRIP's report was compiled from data gathered by other agencies and think tanks. It focused on three aspects of travel: accidents, damaged roads and traffic delays.

Moretti's most sobering comment involved accidents. While Virginia had an average of 921 fatalities each of the past five years, that number may start to rise because more vehicles will be on the roads, he said.

Safety measures such as air bags and rumble strips have held down the number of fatal accidents in recent years, but available technology and other improvements are almost fully deployed. As gains in those areas level off, expect higher traffic volumes to send traffic deaths up, Moretti said.

He acknowledged that the emotional costs of those accidents cannot be measured.

New roads aren't the only answer, he said. Law enforcement and smart highway technology that lets roads and cars communicate with drivers will also be necessary.

TRIP's report attracted comment from others in the road-building area.

The Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville said the report's statistics correctly point out the need for better road maintenance.

But TRIP said nothing about local zoning and land-use planning and how it can be used to control the sprawl of roads and development, said Trip Pollard, the law center's director.

Star Solutions, the builders' consortium negotiating a contract with Virginia to widen Interstate 81, added its viewpoint to the TRIP report by pointing out accident statistics on I-81.

A TRIP report earlier this year showed that one in 50 Virginia fatalities occurs on I-81, and often those crashes are caused partly by the mix of cars and trucks on the highway, said Star spokeswoman Mary Beth Jarvis.

TRIP broke out the Roanoke statistics this way: The annual cost of serious accidents resulting from inadequate road design is $336 per driver; time and fuel lost to congestion cost $248; and vehicle maintenance resulting from rough roads costs $290.

For purposes of the report, TRIP assumed that one-third of all serious and fatal accidents can be attributed to unsafe aspects of road design, Moretti said.

Roads' surface conditions were evaluated by traffic study institutions that use an "international roughness index" that rates roads in several nations, Moretti said.

TRIP's financial support comes from groups representing contractors, unions, construction engineers, pavement makers, material providers and equipment dealers.

TRIP consists of six people working in Washington, Moretti said.Info for factbox:Short trips in

these areas

can be costly,

TRIP saysThe Road Information Program said bad roads cost the average Virginia driver $336 a year, but the cost is higher for urban drivers:

$2,131 in the Washington metro area.

$1,290 in Hampton Roads.

$1,032 in the Richmond area.

$874 in the Roanoke area.

$684 for urban drivers elsewhere.