Remembering the victims of traffic violence across our region – UPDATED

| Posted

November 21, 2022

People held a series of actions and press conferences across the Puget Sound region to remember the victims of traffic violence and call for action to prevent more of them.

A Rainier Valley Greenways action at Seattle City Hall set out 189 pairs of shoes to represent the people killed on Seattle streets since announcing the Vision Zero program in 2015. Actually, they had to update their sign to say 190 after learning of another death over the weekend. As of posting this story, the total was up to 191.

190 people have died on Seattle streets since the City announced its commitment to ending traffic violence. These shoes represent children, spouses, grandparents, friends, & neighbors killed since then.
Join the fight for safer streets: https://t.co/ar9S1ouqpu @RVGreenways pic.twitter.com/P6Bq0AzEfY

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— Bob Svercl @bobco85 (@bobco85) November 21, 2022

Washington Bikes also held press events in Seattle and Everett with a third planned to start at 4 p.m. in Tacoma. The events included heart-wrenching statements from people who have lost loved ones as well as calls for policy changes.

Claudia Mason, wife of Rob Mason: the experience of being a victim of traffic violence has been an every day burden. My sincere hope is that my husband’s death makes it clear that a change in policy is necessary pic.twitter.com/Duxn3otz8J

— Washington Bikes (@WAbikes) November 21, 2022

These deaths are preventable by designing our streets to be safer and predictable for all users -Ed Engall @goSnotrac pic.twitter.com/pyzHGGqbyD

— Washington Bikes (@WAbikes) November 21, 2022

Amber Weilert – we have to make this better. There are kids biking everywhere in this community and they have to be able to do so safely. These roads are not just for drivers pic.twitter.com/BCDMlt4nmx

— Washington Bikes (@WAbikes) November 22, 2022

The actions were all part of World Day of Remembrance 2022, recognized in many places on Sunday but noted in Seattle on Monday. Washington traffic deaths in the first half of 2022 increased 16 percent compared to the previous year.

UPDATE: WA Bikes published this list of proposed policy changes to help address traffic safety:

Washington Bikes will work with legislators and local elected officials to push the following policy proposals:

Point-Zero-Five Saves Lives: Lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving to 0.05 percent.
- Roughly half of crashes involve drunk or impaired drivers, and that number is rising. Utah implemented this change and saw an immediate reduction in impaired driving. More than 100 countries have a 0.05 limit, or lower.
Wrong on Red. Eliminate right turns on red in areas with high foot traffic and alongside bike lanes.
- Intersections are the most dangerous places for people walking and biking. More than 80 percent of crashes in Seattle occur at intersections, and more than one in five crashes statewide.
Educate Young Drivers: Require driver education as a condition of getting a license.
- A third of fatal and serious injury crashes involve drivers under the age of 25. Washington residents are allowed to skip driver education if they get a license after the age of 18, and fewer than half of young drivers have received driver education in our state.
Heavier is Deadlier: Increase fees for larger, deadlier vehicles to pay for safety education campaigns.
- Automakers are complicit in the rising death toll. SUVs are more likely to kill pedestrians than cars, and today’s larger and heavier vehicles are deadlier to people walking and biking. Children are eight times likelier to die when struck by an SUV rather than smaller passenger cars. Fatalities disproportionately impact communities of color.

Washington Bikes will work with legislators and local elected officials to push the following policy proposals:

Point-Zero-Five Saves Lives: Lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving to 0.05 percent.
- Roughly half of crashes involve drunk or impaired drivers, and that number is rising. Utah implemented this change and saw an immediate reduction in impaired driving. More than 100 countries have a 0.05 limit, or lower.
Wrong on Red. Eliminate right turns on red in areas with high foot traffic and alongside bike lanes.
- Intersections are the most dangerous places for people walking and biking. More than 80 percent of crashes in Seattle occur at intersections, and more than one in five crashes statewide.
Educate Young Drivers: Require driver education as a condition of getting a license.
- A third of fatal and serious injury crashes involve drivers under the age of 25. Washington residents are allowed to skip driver education if they get a license after the age of 18, and fewer than half of young drivers have received driver education in our state.
Heavier is Deadlier: Increase fees for larger, deadlier vehicles to pay for safety education campaigns.
- Automakers are complicit in the rising death toll. SUVs are more likely to kill pedestrians than cars, and today’s larger and heavier vehicles are deadlier to people walking and biking. Children are eight times likelier to die when struck by an SUV rather than smaller passenger cars. Fatalities disproportionately impact communities of color.