Before Virginia rings out 2007 on New Year's Eve, the state will likely record its 1,000th highway fatality for the first time since 1990.

"It's not a milestone we would want to be celebrating," said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of the Virginia State Police.

"If we had 1,000 people die in airplane crashes in Virginia, we'd ground all the airplanes," he said.

That 1,000th victim probably will be driving on a two-lane road, lose control of a pickup, car or sport utility vehicle and veer off onto the right shoulder, according to statistical profiles of typical accident victims.

The motorist, who probably won't be wearing a seat belt, next will make the often-fatal mistake of overcorrecting, losing even more control of the vehicle before running off the road and hitting a fence, utility pole, embankment or tree.

As of last night, the state's unofficial 2007 highway death count stood at 997. Last year, Virginia recorded 961 highway fatalities, up 15 from 2005.

This year's 997th victim was Glenna Mae Berry, 81, of Buchanan, whose death fit some elements of the typical traffic fatality profile. Berry lost control of her car Wednesday on U.S. 11 in Rockbridge County and smashed into a brick wall. She was not wearing a seat belt.

Flaherty said 40 percent of those killed on Virginia highways this year were not wearing seat belts.

"To buckle up is the simplest thing to do," he said.

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said motorcycle fatalities were a major factor in the 2007 increase in traffic deaths.

As of Nov. 6, there were 116 fatal motorcycle crashes, compared with 62 as of Nov. 6 last year. In October alone this year, 20 people died in motorcycle wrecks, she said.

Geller said some of the motorcycle deaths involved men in their 40s and 50s with little or no motorcycle experience who got a yen to own and operate an expensive, powerful machine.

Meanwhile Geller said fatalities are down 11 percent this year on interstate highways, but up as much as 19 percent on secondary roads.

Flaherty and Geller agree that the reasons people wreck and kill themselves and others have changed little over the years: driving too fast, failing to share the road with other motorists, distractions, drinking and just plain inattention.

Flaherty pointed out that although Virginia's fatality numbers are up, the state's highway death rate has consistently remained below the national average.

In 2006, Virginia's highway death rate was 1.19 deaths per 100 million miles, compared with 1.42 nationally.

Also, it's inevitable that highway wrecks and deaths will increase as Virginia grows.

In 1990 -- the year the state last topped 1,000 highway deaths -- Virginia's population was 6.1 million. There were 4.4 million licensed drivers and nearly 5 million registered vehicles.

In 2006, the last year for which statistics are available, the state's population was 7.6 million. Licensed drivers totaled 5.3 million, and registered vehicles topped 7.3 million.