Tag Archives: Traffic Safety Ombudsman Petition

Petitions & Collaborative Efforts Are Making Progress In Ending Preventable Crash Deaths

I am thankful for the progress which has been made in traffic safety and underride protection. And I am asking you all to hang in there with us and keep pushing for more.

Please sign and share these two petitions:

  1. Just launched this petition directed to NHTSA calling on them to mandate side guards on trucks; they have been talking about it since 1969. Technology is available. Let’s get at it! Mandate Side Guards On Large Trucks To End Deadly Side Underride Crashes  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/104/026/213/mandate-side-guards-on-large-trucks-to-end-deadly-side-underride-crashes/
  2. Traffic Safety Ombudsman Petition: We propose that the United States establish an independent Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman to be an advocate to eliminate preventable crash deaths and serious injuries.  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

Roads Safer

Reports on Past Petitions:

Collaborative Effort: Media Coverage of the first Truck Underride Roundtable held at IIHS on May 5, 2016

Together, we are indeed making the roads safer — one step at a time. Thank you.

After another truck crash tragedy, I launched a new petition for a Traffic Safety Advocate. Sign here.

Appoint a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman To End Preventable Crash Fatalities

Petition Created by M.K. on August 02, 2016

We propose that the President establish an independent Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman to be an advocate to eliminate preventable crash deaths and serious injuries.

Every average day in the U.S., 100 of our loved ones die in crash deaths and 400 more suffer serious crash injuries–along with $2 Billion in crash losses.

We need someone who has a mandate to advocate on behalf of the victims, someone who is not compromised by competing interests. We call on the President to take this action to protect our families and loved ones from one of the leading causes of preventable death.

Traffic Safety has not been a national priority. Without this Presidential action, too many lives will continue to be lost to vehicle violence.

Sign & Share: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

(Note, as of August 2, The petition on the White House site is now expired; sign the above one at Care2 instead! https://wh.gov/iFPSv)

ONE MORE TRUCK CRASH TRAGEDY too many: Young family killed in I-80 crash was headed to Colorado for missionary training

Anger & frustration in aftermath of truck crash tragedies: https://annaleahmary.com/2016/06/the-anger-and-frustration-in-the-aftermath-of-a-truck-crash-are-not-easily-resolved/

Vehicle violence

For more info: https://annaleahmary.com/tag/traffic-safety-ombudsman/

“Victims of underride collision demand Vision Zero and an independent Traffic Safety Ombudsman”

Less than a week ago, I woke up thinking, “I need to start a petition on the White House website asking President Obama to appoint a Traffic Safety Ombudsman.” The idea of such a position/role had come to me a month earlier, but nobody was responding to my request to appoint one.

Now it seemed like I needed to take action. Since the petition site indicated that if we got 100,000 signatures in 30 days, then they would respond to it, it seemed like good timing to start July 1–with July 31 as the target date.

The first step was getting the ball rolling and it has been torturous watching the number of signatures slowly creep up. Once it reaches 150, then the petition will become searchable on their website. Meanwhile. . .

Maybe we’ll get a boost from an article published today on treehugger.com by managing editor, Lloyd Alter. I had commented on his article last weekend on the Tesla crash and Tweeted a message to him.

Today he published an article about our crash story, our advocacy efforts, and our Traffic Safety Ombudsman Petition and Vision Zero goals. Perhaps this will give us a good jumpstart on the way to our 100,000 goal–and ultimately our goal of SAVING LIVES.

Victims of underride collision demand Vision Zero and an independent Traffic Safety Ombudsman

End Crash FatalitiesPetition TSO

SIGN  & SHARE the TRAFFIC SAFETY OMBUDSMAN Petition:

 August 3 UPDATE: The petition on the White House site is expired. Please sign our new Traffic Safety Ombudsman Petition at Care2;  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

Memes & Other Tools to Spread the Vision of a Traffic Safety Ombudsman to Advocate for Safer Roads

August 3 UPDATE: The petition on the White House site is expired. Please sign our new Traffic Safety Ombudsman Petition at Care2;  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

So, I have launched this petition on the White House website with the hope that we can get 100,000 people to sign in support of asking President Obama to appoint a Traffic Safety Ombudsman to speak on our behalf on a daily, ongoing basis so that we will be safer as we travel on the roads of our country.

But even the title, “Traffic Safety Ombudsman,” is a foreign concept. Ombuds is a Scandinavian word meaning representative or proxy, someone authorized to act for someone else. If you google the term (try it), you mostly get my posts about the topic. So why am I asking the President to appoint one?

Well, first of all, my first job out of college was as the director of a non-profit patient advocacy organization for nursing home patients–Citizens for Better Care. I learned all about the need and importance of advocating for the needs of vulnerable people who cannot necessarily speak for themselves. I, also, became acquainted with the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (at the time, Doug Roberts). I learned a lot about being an advocate from Doug.

Secondly, and more recently and significantly, after my two youngest daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13), were killed due a truck underride crash on May 4, 2013, I became fully aware of the many, many factors which lead to crash fatalities (and serious life-altering injuries) and, furthermore, that many of those tragedies could have been prevented.

That experience has unexpectedly catapulted me into a new volunteer role of safety advocate for road users (all of us). It has also made me gung-ho about being passionate to get to the bottom of things and not wait around for somebody else to do something about it. It has also made me want to make others aware of the problems and stir them up to be a part of the solutions.

Which brings us to the Petition to Appoint a Traffic Safety Ombudsman to act on our behalf and who is not compromised by competing interests. Safety will be the person’s driving force and purpose. Without a position like this, SAFETY will continue to lose the battle to PROFIT.

And in order to force the White House to respond to our request to establish an Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman, we need to get at least 100,000 people on board with the vision. When that happens, the White House has promised to respond. Once we get 150 signatures, the petition will be searchable on the White House website.

So I have provided some tools here for you to use to raise awareness and light a fire under perfectly capable citizens who can help us accomplish this!

Be a part of the solution. WHAT CAN YOU TO DO TO HELP?

  1. Share the Petition link itself: https://wh.gov/i6kUj
  2. Share posts so people hear about the Petition: This website post: http://tinyurl.com/je2cm2c or my facebook post:  https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1051262074956306&id=464993830249803
  3. Share other posts so people can learn more about why a Traffic Safety Ombudsman is needed and what it is: 
  4. Share MEMES to get the message across in an emotion-packed visual way:

Traffic Safety Ombudsman PetitionSerenity PrayerIrreversible & RegrettableOmbudsman for Traffic SafetyPresident ObamaCost.Benefit AnalysisTired Trucker RoundtablePetitionHeader_option2CBA Victim Cost Benefit Analysis VictimTSO PETITIONPetition TSO

  1. Share all of these things multiple times and in multiple ways to inform, inspire, and motivate those who might be hearing of some of these things for the first time. I have been using them to thank people for their support and to encourage/equip them to be a part of the solution.
  2. Share videos to get the message across in another way: 

Thank you for being part of our team! Mary would have said, “Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

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Questions? Comments? email me: marianne@annaleahmary.com