November 19, 2017 BY Kathleen Ferrierin Families for Safe Streets, News

Mobilizing for Action after World Day of Remembrance

From Alexandria to San Antonio to Los Angeles, people across the nation stood in solidarity on Sunday, November 19th to consider the fact that an average 100 people die each day on our nation's streets in preventable crashes and to say "Enough is enough."

On the annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, more U.S. communities than ever joined the international community to organize events to draw attention to the goal of Vision Zero -- safe mobility for all people by eliminating traffic deaths and severe injuries.

Recognizing that traffic crashes kill 40,000 people a year in the U.S. and 1.2 million worldwide -- though receive scant attention compared to other public health crises affecting comparable numbers of people, such as the opioid epidemic or gun violence -- loved ones of those lost, elected leaders, and community members joined together to demand change. From the steps of City Hall in San Francisco to the State Capitol in Boston, advocates for prioritizing safety over speed raised their voices from coast to coast.

We commend the many community members -- including Families for Safe Streets -- and city leaders across the country who stepped forward to elevate the importance of this preventable health crisis. We urge leaders now to take the stories shared on World Day of Remembrance -- the tragic stories of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children behind the shocking statistics -- and channel these losses into action toward the goal of Vision Zero, safe mobility for all. (Read more on specific strategies to manage speed for safety here and to move from vision to action here.)

And we hope you’ll be inspired by the many activities and voices participating in this year’s World Day of Remembrance (#WDR2017/#WD0R2017), some of which are shared here:

https://twitter.com/paula_benway/status/932374846293635072

https://twitter.com/FSS_SoCal/status/919706279043506176

https://twitter.com/Aunt_Bike/status/880770290338410496

Photo Credit: City of San Antonio

Photo Credit: City of San Antonio

Photo Credit: Vision Zero Austin, TX


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