Ask an Officer: Kids Playing in the Street, Crash Info

If you have questions for the Prince William County police department, we'll pass them along to Officer Jonathan Perok and First Sgt. Kim Chinn, public information officers with the department.

Questions can be asked anonymously. Submit your questions to us via e-mail at laurenj at patch.com, by posting a comment on this article, or by sending us a Tweet or a message on our Facebook page. 

Question: We have a major problem on Pickwick Lane off of Smoketown.  We have multiple kids playing anything from baseball, soccer, football, hockey, and riding their bikes, go-carts, motorized cars, and sit down scooters at full force coming down the cul-de-sac.

It's a dangerous situation, and one of these days one of them is going to get hurt, as we can't see them when they're sitting down on a scooter, and coming down full force from the top of the street as we're trying to back out of our driveways.The Association has a nice playground area right behind Smoketown, but they'd rather play in the street...the main issue is between 4 p.m. and dusk on a weekday.

When my neighbor called the police they told her they would drive by and check it out periodically, but she nor I have seen any cruisers go by.

Any suggestions on what else to do? 

Answer: Officers are tasked with answering calls for service. These calls for service are based on a priority scale with our dispatch center. This time of day is especially busy for our officers. Our officers are briefed of issues like this in roll call, however, calls for service take precedence. My suggestion would be to call our non-emergency line at 703-792-6500 when the kids are actively playing in the street so the issue can be addressed. 

Question: What is the law regarding postal vehicles, specifically, if a postal vehicle is pulled partially off the side of the road, delivering mail, is it permitted to go around the vehicle? Sometimes, this occurs where there is a double yellow line, and also when the postal vehicle is progressing up that road very slowly, stopping to deliver mail. Can I go around it?  

Answer: Typically, roads are marked with a double yellow line for a reason. This reason could be due to a curve in the roadway, a hill or other reason where allowing vehicles to pass would be potentially dangerous. State law, 46.2-804, does not allow vehicles to pass over the double yellow line, except when making a left turn into a private drive, etc.

•   § 46.2-804. Special regulations applicable on highways laned for traffic.
• 6. Wherever a highway is marked with double traffic lines consisting of two immediately adjacent solid lines, no vehicle shall be driven to the left of such lines, except when turning left.

Question: Where can I get information about accidents I have seen happen in my area? Several times, I have witnessed accidents and wanted to know what happened to the persons involved, but have never seen anything about it in the newspaper. A friend saw a woman who was a victim of a hit and run, and my friend provided aid and comfort to the victim. After the victim was transported away, my friend had no way to find out what happened to her. Any thoughts?

Answer: Crashes are one of the most frequent calls officers respond to in Prince William County. The Public Information Office, which is charged with releasing police incidents to the public, makes it a usual practice to only report on crashes resulting in a fatality. There are other circumstances where crash information would be released, i.e. a hit and run, if there is a necessity to do so. We will release crash information if requested.