Every time I hear about a new tragic crash or an ineffective attempt to strengthen safety rules and regulations, my own personal grief at the loss of my two youngest daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13), due to a preventable truck underride crash on May 4, 2013, wells up anew.
Take this for example:
Deadly Chattanooga crash raises questions about seat belts on school buses https://t.co/8LIrW485Lr pic.twitter.com/FdhiNToLf2
— News 19 (@whnt) November 23, 2016
Or the latest attempt by some legislators to get the government to do something about the problem of deadly seatback collapse: Lawmakers demand “immediate action” on unsafe car seats.
Unfortunately, I know all too well from experience that raising questions and demanding action are mostly a wasted effort and won’t bring about needed change in time to save countless lives from joining the rank of those gone too soon — when perhaps such tragedies could have been avoided.
In my opinion, we aren’t going to see much progress in many areas of traffic safety until we as a country take vehicle violence seriously. That is why I continue to call for for a more effective and united strategy:
- Set a National Vision Zero Goal — make traffic safety a priority; Death by Motor Vehicle is one of the leading causes of preventable death.
- Establish a White House Vision Zero Task Force — it is a multifaceted problem, not just a transportation issue.
- Adopt Vision Zero Rulemaking.
- Appoint an independent National Traffic Safety Ombudsman to serve as a vigilant voice for vulnerable victims of vehicle violence.
- Mobilize citizens to be part of the solution through a nationwide network of Vision Zero/Traffic Safety community action groups.
Wake up, America! The Crash Death Clock is ticking away. . .
Does a fragmented #VisionZero strategy bring more delays & thus more preventable deaths? pic.twitter.com/jEdYvoXYYb
— Marianne Karth (@MaryandAnnaLeah) November 23, 2016
Could the lack of a nat'l priority contribute to slow progress toward zero crash deaths? pic.twitter.com/O4KpUf7wYl
— Marianne Karth (@MaryandAnnaLeah) November 23, 2016
Give a strong Voice to Vulnerable Victims of Vehicle Violence: Appoint a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman. pic.twitter.com/2m5gj3MSYG
— Marianne Karth (@MaryandAnnaLeah) November 23, 2016
People don't plan to die from vehicle violence. Who will protect them? pic.twitter.com/9Wx65F2tso
— Marianne Karth (@MaryandAnnaLeah) November 23, 2016
Mobilize citizens to be part of the solution in the Road to Zero crash deaths.
@realDonaldTrump Will our new president take vehicle violence seriously? https://t.co/JNIwiS4ptK
— Marianne Karth (@MaryandAnnaLeah) November 23, 2016