As residents drive along West Constance Road this month, they will see 150 shining reminders to drive safely.

Once again this year, the Suffolk Pilot Club is sponsoring the Safety Tree to remind drivers to be safe during the holiday season.

The tree is strung with green lights, but whenever a traffic fatality occurs in Suffolk during the holiday season, a green light is replaced with a red one.

“We want to remind everyone when they see green lights to drive safely,” said Cathy Richards, president of the Pilot Club. “The goal is to have no red lights.”

On Thursday, Mayor Linda T. Johnson and Police Chief Thomas Bennett joined Richards and Debbie Corbett, the co-chairwoman for projects for the Pilot Club, and members of the Suffolk Elks Lodge to officially light the tree for the season.

For the first time, the tree stands in front of the Elks Lodge, located at 329 W. Constance Road. Last year, the Safety Tree sat on the corner of Main and Constance. Before that, it typically was at the Health Department on North Main Street before that department moved.

“The Elks Lodge always donated the tree to us,” Richards said. “And this year, they even let us use their area.”

The Safety Tree is one of the Pilot Club’s projects, and the group has been putting one up for at least 25 years, Richards said.

The number of red lights on the tree fluctuates every year, she said, and the highest number that has been on the tree is six.

“Last year, the day we put the tree up we had to put on a red bulb,” she said.

Johnson hopes there aren’t any red lights on the tree this year.

“That isn’t going to happen this year,” she said. “Everybody is going to be safe. We hope that every one of the lights stays green.”
Johnson said she hopes the tree will be a reminder to everyone to stay safe during the busy holiday season.

“We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday,” she said.