END THE SILENCE ON TRAFFIC VIOLENCE.
We demand that every U.S. presidential candidate take a pledge to End the Silence on Traffic Violence and put forth a comprehensive national plan to end the epidemic.
#EndTrafficViolence
Traffic violence is an epidemic
which kills 40,000 people and injures 3 million every year in the United States.Families for Safe Streets demands that every U.S. presidential candidate end the silence on traffic violence and put forward a plan for safe, livable, and vibrant communities where Americans have safe and dignified transportation options, and can travel freely without harm. We all deserve to grow up and live life to the fullest without fear that we or someone we love will be killed in a preventable traffic crash.Americans deserve a national leader who will put an end to the senseless carnage on our roads and confront the deadly epidemic of traffic violence.Learn more about the national crisis, and how to end it.
#EndTrafficViolence
The Crisis
_Traffic violence is an epidemic which kills 40,000 people and injures 3 million every year in the United States. _Families for Safe Streets demands that every U.S. presidential candidate end the silence on traffic violence and put forward a plan for safe, livable, and vibrant communities where Americans have safe and dignified transportation options, and can travel freely without harm. We all deserve to grow up and live life to the fullest without fear that we or someone we love will be killed in a preventable traffic crash.Americans deserve a national leader who will put an end to the senseless carnage on our roads and confront the deadly epidemic of traffic violence.
$1 Trillion The annual cost of traffic crashes is estimated to be over $1 trillion according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That includes $277 billion in direct costs, and an estimated $594 billion in “harm from the loss of life and the pain and decreased quality of life due to injuries.624,000 The number of people killed in car crashes since January 2000. This eclipses the number of American military personnel who died in World War I and World War II combined. An additional 30 million people were injured in crashes during this time.40,000 The approximate number of people killed in traffic crashes every year for the past five years -- the equivalent of a regional plane crashing every day -- twice the number murdered by guns and on par with the opioid epidemic; an additional 53,000 Americans die from the exhaust and vehicle pollution. three million Americans are injured in car crashes annually.6,247 The number of pedestrian deaths as a result of traffic violence in 2018, up a staggering 27% over the past 5 years and at a 30-year all-time high.42nd The United States' rank out of 51 high-income nations for per capita traffic fatalities.These are not accidents. Traffic crashes are preventable. We can end this epidemic by implementing proven solutions.
The Solutions
We urge our elected leaders to put forth a comprehensive national plan to end the epidemic of traffic violence that includes the following:1. Commit to End Traffic Fatalities by 2050- Adopt Vision Zero: Make a national commitment to end fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways.
- Use a data driven approach: Use a systematic, data-driven approach towards reducing fatalities and injuries to inform all funding and policy transportation decisions. Timely share local and national data sets in an open data format for academics, local and state Departments of Health and Departments of Transportation to more effectively identify funding and policy solutions to this epidemic.2. Pass a Vision Zero Infrastructure Bill & Tie Funding to Safety- Invest in Safety: Eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries will require a significant investment in our infrastructure, with a focus on public transportation, safe street design, technology, and research. Funding for public transit and efforts for safer street design have declined dramatically in recent years. Given the outsized contribution of motor vehicles to U.S. carbon emissions, and associated health impacts, embed the the bill within a push for sustainability that mandates all funding increases in the transportation budget be allocated for transit, walking and micro-mobility in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Tie State Funding to Saving Lives & Creating Healthy Communities: Require that every state reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roadways and make state funding conditional on significant reductions in fatalities and serious injuries along with a statewide implementation plan for achieving Vision Zero. The plan must include measures that allow people to drive less by connecting people to jobs and services by all modes of travel as well as shortening commutes and making them more reliable. All state plans must also address the need to manage speed (e.g., safe speed limits and street design), use automated enforcement, set stricter licensing requirements and enhance driver safety education. All funding for arterial roadways in developed areas must include a safety review.
- Invest in Technology: Allocate federal funding for research to enhance the effectiveness of newly developed automated traffic enforcement technology (e.g., failure to yield, block the box technology), safe intersection technology, and visual near miss analytics.
- Consider Sources of Revenue to Discourage Reliance on Automobile Travel: Possible sources of funding for increase in transportation funds include a gasoline tax, which puts the burden for traffic fatalities on road users and promotes alternative transportation options.3. Implement National Road Safety Mandates- Support Smart & Safe Automobile Improvements: Set national minimum safety requirements for automobiles, including requirements for speed limiters, pedestrian detection, automatic breaking; ban on SUV bull bars; and require trucks and SUVs to be designed so that the driver can see pedestrians, particularly children and older adults. Incentivize smaller, safer cars; introduce measures to reduce SUVs and other dangerous light-trucks; and mandate the use of smaller vehicles in government fleets. Work with automakers to reduce overall in-vehicle distractions. Implement mandatory truck safety reform including side guards and safe cab designs. Lead by example and mandate the use of app-based or in-vehicle safe driving technology that monitors speeding, distracted aggressive driving in federal fleets.
- Systematically Address Drunk, Drugged, and Distracted Driving: Support the 2019 Ride Act to Prevent Drunk Driving With Driver Alcohol Detection Systems which would work with automakers to integrate Driver Alcohol Detection Systems, first in federal fleets in a pilot program, then in all new cars after 2022. Reduce the maximum BAC level to .05. Implement and enforce national standards for drugged and distracted driving (e.g., nationwide handsfree legislation).
- Modernize Federal Transportation Policy To Prioritize Safety Over Speed: Replace outdated roadway standards that prioritize vehicle speed over safety such as the Level of Service, priority for 12-foot lanes and the 85th percentile rule for setting speed limits that are inappropriate for higher density urban and suburban areas and rural towns.
- Set National Guidelines for Post-Crash Response: Provide guidelines to states on effective and appropriate post-crash response including investigation, prosecution, license suspension/revocation and sentencing guidelines to hold reckless drivers accountable.4. Support Crash Victims
- Support a Victims Rights Act for Traffic Crash Victims and Their Families: Provide crash victims and their families rights based on the 1984 Victims of Crime Act, including financial support (e.g., burial costs) and the right for crash victims and their families to attend and testify at post-crash enforcement related hearings, including department of motor vehicle proceedings.
DEMAND A PLAN
Americans deserve a national leader who will put an end to the senseless carnage on our roads and confront the deadly epidemic of traffic violence.
share your story
You have the power to grow this movement. One in seven Americans knows someone personally impacted in a crash. Tag presidential candidates and share your crash story. Include where you live to show this is a national epidemic. Demand a Plan. End the silence on traffic violence. #EndTrafficViolence
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#EndTrafficViolence
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Join our growing coalition of organizations, elected officials and dignitaries demanding that our national leaders end the silence and put forth a plan to end the epidemic.
#EndTrafficViolence
© 2019 Families for Safe Streets, a project of Transportation Alternatives