Ask an Officer: What Can Vienna Do About Cars on the W&OD?

Have a question you've always wanted to ask someone in law enforcement? Officer Gary Lose of the Vienna Police Department will answer your question through our Ask an Officer feature. Readers submit questions, and Officer Lose responds. Send questions to Ethan.Levine@patch.com or submit them in the comments section below.

Here's this week's question:

What is the deal with cars on the W&OD Trail and how are police dealing with the situation?

In the recent months there have been two highly publicized incidents on the W&OD Trail that involved vehicles entering the trail and traveling unknown distances.

These incidents, understandably, have prompted numerous calls concerning the actions of the Vienna Police Department.

In the first incident, the driver was arrested by Officer Tracy of the Vienna Police Department for Driving While Intoxicated. The Fairfax County Police Department also issued several additional charges against the driver.

The second incident was not reported to police but was released on YouTube. The video depicts a moped being driven on the path while the operator of the moped videotapes another vehicle on the trail. The moped operator explains the driver of the vehicle, which appeared to have been from California, entered the path erroneously and was attempting to exit the path while they were being videotaped.

It should be noted that both the moped and the vehicle operators were in violation of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authorities’ rule which prohibits the operation of any motorized vehicles on the trail unless otherwise posted. With that being said, in the first incident the vehicle operator was suspected of and arrested for Driving While Intoxicated, while in the second incident no officers responded to the scene as there were no calls placed to the Vienna Police Department.

The Vienna Police Department would like to remind citizens that they are the eyes and ears of the police department, and if they see anything they feel is suspicious or a possible violation of the law they should call- “We Want to Be Bothered!!”

There have also been many questions about how to prevent vehicles from entering the W&OD Trail. 

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) maintains the W&OD Trail and is given the authority to place or not place barriers leading onto the trail from any public areas. The Town of Vienna therefore does not have the authority to place any type of barrier that would prevent a vehicle from entering the W&OD Trail. Should you have any questions concerning the rules and regulation of the NVRPA, you can obtain a listing from the NVRPA website.

See also:

• Car Hits Bicyclist on W&OD Trail in Vienna 
  
• Bicyclist Recovering from Serious Injuries After Hit and Run on W&OD Trail
  
• Car Travels the W&OD Trail- Again