Study: Danville safer than county

A new study from the University of Virginia shows that living in Danville is safer than living in Pittsylvania County.

When considering life-threatening dangers associated with routine activities outside the home, the study found that overall cities are the safest places to live in Virginia.

“Most people think about crime when they think about neighborhood safety,” William H. Lucy, professor of urban and environmental planning at U.Va., said in a statement about the study. “But the greatest danger of leaving home is from traffic injuries and fatalities.

“The basic difference between Danville and Pittsylvania County is the same as elsewhere in the state,” he said from his Charlottesville office. “There are far more traffic fatalities (in the county) than homicides (in the city).”

While the homicide rate in the city between 2003 and 2007 was about twice as high as in the county, the rate of traffic fatalities in the county was about four times higher than in the city.

“Most homicides are by people who know each other, and often occur at home, so they’re not associated with the danger of leaving home,” Lucy said. “Even if you were to include all of the homicides as an indicator of danger, it wouldn’t come close.”

The study found Danville was three times safer than Pittsylvania County from 2003 through 2007 and 2 1/2 times safer from 1978 through 2007.

Between 2003 and 2007, the mean traffic fatality rate in Danville was 6 per 100,000 people, while it was 22.7 in Pittsylvania County.

In those same years, the mean homicide rate was 4.8 in Pittsylvania County and 11.2 in Danville. The mean rate of stranger inflicted homicide was .7 in Danville and 1.7 in Pittsylvania County.

Lucy’s combined figures show that per 100,000 people in those five years, there were 27.5 deaths in the county compared to 17.2 in Danville. When only considering stranger homicide rates, the county still comes out on top with 23.4 deaths compared to Danville’s 7.7. Lucy said this relationship also holds true for the two five-year periods preceding 2003-2007.

Traffic accidents pose more threat than just death, too, he added.

“If injuries are also an indicator of danger, which of course they are, that would be another reason to be concerned about the driving,” Lucy said. “Where fatalities are high, injuries will also be high.”

Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor said he’s seen traffic fatalities go up in the past few years, particularly in the 16-24 age groups.

“I think the majority of the reasons were inattention and not wearing seatbelts,” he said.

Taylor concurred that as homicide investigations proceed, it turns out there is usually a connection between the people involved, whether it’s family or community. He said that most stranger homicides often happen at convenience stores or places of business, “where the motive more often than not would be a robbery.”

The relationship between safety in Danville and Pittsylvania County mirrors the rest of the state. About 30 percent of Virginia’s annual traffic fatalities between 1978 and 2007 occurred in single-vehicle crashes. In 2007, 16-25-year-olds accounted for 29 percent of traffic deaths.

During the five-year study period, annual traffic deaths ranged from a low of 922 in 2004 to a high of 1,026 in 2007, according to the U.Va. study. The homicide low was 390 in 2004 and the high was 416 in 2003.

Contact Sarah Arkin at sarkin@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7983.