Tag Archives: Vision Zero

Out-of-control. Regrettable actions. Broken lives. Irreversible tragedies.

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The recent widespread discussion in social media about the actions of a young man after partying  has triggered my distress at the thought of the regrettable actions by drunk, drugged, distracted, and drowsy drivers every day.

Do we really grasp the way that these things impair us and change our ability to act sensibly, responsibly–the way we might if we were “in our right mind”?

What does it lead to (whether intended or not)? Out-of-control. Regrettable actions. Broken lives. Irreversible tragedies.

Surely there are better ways for us to deal with the stress, pain, fear, frustration, and boredom in our lives.  I mean, what are we doing to ourselves? Has it become socially acceptable to mess up our own lives as well as those around us?

What can I do about it? What can you do about it? Surely we can work together to find ways to end these senseless, preventable tragedies–on and off the road.

 

Ex-astronaut charged with murder in car wreck that killed 2

Impaired Driving

Irreversible & Regrettable

Obama (6/1/16): “We used to have really bad auto fatality rates. . .” And we don’t NOW?!

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

Dear President Obama,

I sat at my computer the other day and listened to you speak at a Town Hall on PBS News Hour (recorded June 1, 2016).

You said that crash fatalities were a major public health problem — as if they no longer are. You implied that we have already done, or are already doing, everything possible to prevent 33,000 people from dying on the roads of our country every year.

In fact, your attitude brushes off my daughters’ deaths as inevitable rather than potentially preventable.  It sounds like, to you, their deaths — their lives —  weren’t worth enough to put out the additional effort needed to decrease the fatality rate to the fullest extent possible. And not once have you acknowledged our petition for Vision Zero action.

Let me tell you, that makes me mad! Would you be any less so were your family in our shoes?! Would that change your tune about the acceptability of the current crash fatality rate? Would you suddenly speak out against the decades of political tug-of-war which delay — over and over — needed safety measures?

Would you go beyond talking about it and do what no one else can do: lead the way in setting our entire nation (and not just some programs in the USDOT or scattered efforts in states, cities, and communities) on a course of aggressively moving toward zero crash deaths & serious injuries?

Would you, in fact, make Traffic Safety a national priority–placing it on the list of important issues listed on whitehouse.gov and then do something about it, e.g.,:

  1. Set a National Vision Zero Goal?
  2. Establish a White House Vision Zero Task Force?
  3. Sign a Vision Zero Executive Order to allow Vision Zero Rulemaking?
  4. Get We the People involved in the action and the solution by promoting the development of a nationwide network of Traffic Safety/Vision Zero Community Groups?
  5. Appoint a Traffic Safety Ombudsman who would oversee all of this and be an  Advocate for vulnerable road users (which includes us all) —untainted by political pressures?

President, Obama, don’t be misled by DOT’s commitment to the TZD (Toward Zero Deaths) initiative. It is obviously not enough. I should know; I have spent endless hours engaged in a battle for safer trucking, and others have spent many more years doing so.

Take the bull by the horn, make use of the authority invested in you as the leader of this country, and end this public health travesty. And please, talk to me about this; show me that you are not ignoring our heartfelt, data-driven pleas.

On behalf of AnnaLeah & Mary (and countless others), who can no longer speak for themselves,

Marianne Karth

p.s. What is stopping you from taking this action which would benefit us all?

On the PBS News Hour, June 1, 2016, starting at 1:57 to about 3:05 on this video,  hear President Obama speak about the crash fatality rate:

https://www.facebook.com/newshour/videos/10154247237078675/

Obama: “We can’t accept this carnage” Let’s apply that sentiment toward preventable highway carnage.

CBA Victim Cost Benefit Analysis Victim

On D-Day, Monday, June 6, 2016, STARTING at NOON (EST), help me flood the media with this message in reply to President Obama (see the sharing links below):

America, are we doing all we can to save our loved ones? Before it’s too late. They never come back.

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, , , ,

Minolta DSCMinolta DSC

AnnaLeah. . . still waters run deep.

Crash Deaths

America, are we doing all we can to save our loved ones? Before it’s too late. Because they never come back.

Minolta DSCMinolta DSC

Mary. . . always a character.

There’s no one someone won’t miss.

Towards Zero Crash Deaths

“Stifled Grief: How the West Has It Wrong”

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, , ,

Stifled Grief: How the West Has It Wrong Huff Post (Common Grief) Michelle E. Steinke Founder/CEO – One Fit Widow, My 1 Fit Life,

It is my grief — my ongoing heartfelt loss —  which compels me to ask these questions.

CBA Victim Cost Benefit Analysis Victim

Is Cost/Benefit Analysis Appropriate for Life & Death Matters? Were their lives worth saving?

Send @POTUS a D-Day Message: End 33,000 crash deaths/yr. Make Traffic Safety a National Priority

Safety Advocacy,

I received an email from President Obama this week in response to a message which I sent to him in March on the whitehouse.gov Contact Form–asking him to read the Vision Zero Petition Book 3rd Edition which we had delivered to him. The news is not really that great. This is what he said:  Email from President Obama

He expressed sympathy and thanked me for writing, but he did not say that he would do anything about the problem or the requested solution/action/strategy. Please help me make sure that he knows that the people of this country want him to make Traffic Safety a National Priority.

On D-Day, Monday, June 6, 2016, STARTING at NOON (EST), help me flood the media with this message in reply to President Obama (see the sharing links below):

For more information, see previous post: I got an email from President Obama this week.

 

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President Obama, Do something to help us move more quickly toward zero crash deaths! Make Traffic Safety a National Priority. 

Last night, Pres. Obama referred in the past tense to crash fatalities as a public health problem.

And don’t forget about the crash injuries. In 2013, approximately 2.31 million people were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes.

Last night, Pres. Obama referred in the past tense to crash fatalities as a public health problem.

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Apparently, President Obama is okay with the current state of traffic fatalities. Anyway it sounds as if he thinks that we have already done all we can to reduce crash deaths.

At least that is what it sounds like to me from last night’s PBS News Hour video of President Obama speaking at a Town Hall (June 2, 2016):

“We used to have really bad auto fatality rates. The auto fatality rate has actually dropped precipitously, drastically since I was a kid. Why is that? We decided we had seat belt laws. We decided to have manufacturers put air bags in place. We decided to crack down on drunk driving and texting. We decided to redesign roads so that they were less likely to have a car bank.

“We studied what is causing these fatalities using science and data and evidence. And then we slowly treated it like the public health problem it was. And it got reduced.”

See President Obama talking about this, starting at 1:57 on this video:  https://www.facebook.com/newshour/videos/10154247237078675/

Interesting. This is what I noticed about what he said:

  1. He identified auto fatalities as a public health problem.
  2. He referred to it in the past tense.
  3. He did not acknowledge that there is still a long ways to go and that there are still way too many preventable crash deaths occurring every year.
  4. He did not mention that 33,000 people — like AnnaLeah and Mary, real people, whom someone will miss — are still dying every year and that we should make it a national priority to work on them.
  5. He also did not mention that more than 2 million people are seriously injured in crashes each year.
  6. He did not take that opportunity to say let’s set a national vision zero goal and work on this together.

President Obama, are you aware that over 20,000 people have asked you to set a Vision Zero Goal and to sign a Vision Zero Executive Order. We need a Vision Zero Task Force to address specific traffic safety issues and we need Vision Zero Rulemaking policies and we need a Traffic Safety Ombudsman to over see this ongoing public health problem–in ways that are not now being done.

Could we please sit down and talk about this so we can get on the same page?

Marianne

p.s. I, for one, daily face the loss of my two daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13). And I know for a fact that more could have been done — but wasn’t — to prevent their deaths.

President Obama

“Growing Momentum for Self-Driving Cars Worries Safety Advocates” Fair Warning

Safety Advocacy, ,

Growing Momentum for Self-Driving Cars Worries Safety Advocates – See more at: http://www.fairwarning.org/2016/06/self-driving-cars/#sthash.V6EZIQZe.eVIkkjWL.dpuf

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Other related articles:

States Vie to Drive Autonomous Vehicles

NHTSA’s, Google’s War on Drivers

I got an email from President Obama this week.

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

I received an email from President Obama this week in response to a message I sent to him in March on the whitehouse.gov Contact Form–asking him to read the Vision Zero Petition Book 3rd Edition which we had delivered to him.  This is what he said:

Dear Marianne,

Thank you for writing. There are no words to ease the pain of losing a loved one, but I hope fond memories help temper the grief you must feel.
 
At this difficult time, please know I will keep fighting for people like you every single day I hold this office. You and your loved ones will be in my thoughts and prayers in the days ahead.
 
Thank you, again, for taking the time to write. I wish you all the best.
 
Sincerely,
Barack Obama

Email from Barack Obama White House.gov

On D-Day, Monday, June 6, 2016, STARTING at NOON (EST), help me flood the media with this message in reply to President Obama (see the sharing links below):

President Obama,

Thank you for your sympathy and kind words. But what I, and over 20,000 Vision Zero Petition signers, want is for you to do what no one else in this country can do: Make Traffic Safety a National Priority!

  1. Set a National Vision Zero Goal to move us toward zero crash deaths.
  2. Establish a White House Vision Zero Task Force.
  3. Sign a Vision Zero Executive Order; and
  4. Appoint a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman to oversee our progress in making our  roads safer.

Looking forward to hearing from you again soon,

Marianne Karth

Please share this Traffic Safety Virtual Flash Mob Game Plan with others before Monday, June 6, D-Day:

  1. Read this post.
  2. Put this Virtual Event on your calendar.
  3. Share this blogpost with others who you think might want to help.
  4. On Monday, June 6, 2016, D-Day starting at noon EST, post this vital message –using every form of social media at your disposal:

 

On Monday, June 6, we will remember the sacrifice of the armed forces as they fought to bring an end to WWII.

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”  https://www.army.mil/d-day/

President Obama, we will accept nothing less than a full-fledged, national effort to move toward zero crash deaths & serious injuries. Lead the way!

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Prayer on D-Day, June 6, 1944

Traffic Safety OmbudsmanPresident Obama Adopt Vision Zero

President Obama

In memory of AnnaLeah & Mary, precious ones whose lives were cut far too short:

Stay tuned for a D-Day Vision Zero Virtual Flash Mob calling for a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

Next Monday, June 6, we will remember the sacrifice of the armed forces as they fought to bring an end to WWII.

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”  https://www.army.mil/d-day/

On June 6, 2016, let us also remember the countless victims of traffic crashes in our country. Michael Lemov has written an eye-opener, Car Safety Wars: One Hundred Years of Technology, Politics, and Death in which he tells us that in the more than 110 years since the first traffic crash in 1898, more than 3.5 million Americans have been killed and more than 300,000,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes [p.9]. This, I learned, is 3x the number of Americans who have been killed and 200x the number wounded in all of the wars fought by our nation since the Revolution [p.10]. Imagine.

And, beyond that, let us seize the moment to send out a loud message to President Obama and members of Congress:

Move Us Toward Zero Crash Deaths: Create an Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman (Advocate)

Despite the 33,000 people who die annually on the roads each year, our country does not currently have a reliable means of addressing the problem. These people cannot cry out in protest. And there is no one who has been granted the responsibility and authority to speak on their behalf.

I think I have a way to change that unfortunate oversight.

Let’s appoint an ombudsman to stand in the place of vulnerable road users (each one of us). Let’s create a National Office of Traffic Safety Ombudsman (or Advocate or Ombuds), who would serve to advance a National Vision Zero Goal–acting to oversee the process of moving us toward zero crash deaths and serious injuries.

An indigenous Danish, Swedish and Norwegian term, ombudsman is etymologically rooted in the Old Norse word umboðsmaðr, essentially meaning “representative” (with the word umbud/ombud meaning proxy,attorney, that is someone who is authorized to act for someone else, a meaning it still has in the Scandinavian languages).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ombudsman

Stay tuned for a way to participate in a Virtual Flash Mob on June 6, 2016, to send this life & death message to our country’s leaders.

Let this be, a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”

CBA Victim Cost Benefit Analysis Victim

More here:  Move Us Toward Zero Crash Deaths: Create Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman (Advocate)

Traffic Safety Ombudsman (Advocate); Missing piece of Vision Zero Strategy

Move Us Toward Zero Crash Deaths: Create Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman (Advocate)

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

Despite the 33,000 people who die annually on the roads each year, our country does not currently have a reliable means of addressing the problem. These people cannot cry out in protest. And there is no one who has been granted the responsibility and authority to speak on their behalf.

I think I have a way to change that unfortunate oversight.

Let’s appoint an ombudsman to stand in the place of vulnerable road users (each one of us). Let’s create a National Office of Traffic Safety Ombudsman or Advocate or Ombuds to advance a National Vision Zero Goal–acting to oversee the process of moving us toward zero crash deaths and serious injuries.

An ombudsman or public advocate is usually appointed by the government or by parliament, but with a significant degree of independence, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration or a violation of rights. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ombudsman

In fact, in October 2015, Congress created just such an office for small businesses:

WASHINGTON – Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced today that Earl L. Gay will serve as SBA’s National Ombudsman and Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Enforcement Fairness.

In Gay’s new role he will oversee an office created by Congress that is responsible for the reporting and review of Federal regulatory actions that impact small business. He will also serve as a liaison between Federal agencies and those small businesses facing regulatory and compliance issues. Additionally, he will lead regional roundtables and public hearings and manage a national network of 10 regional regulatory fairness boards charged with advising SBA on Federal regulations unduly burdening small businesses.

Small businesses have a National Ombudsman. Why not do the same for the victims of tragic, preventable traffic crashes?

What are we waiting for?! This would be the perfect complement to our Vision Zero Petition requests for a National Vision Zero Goal, a White House Vision Zero Task Force, and a Vision Zero Executive Order. In fact, the Traffic Safety Ombuds(man) (Advocate) would fit in extremely well with this plan and, now that I think about it, is actually probably the missing piece of the puzzle for making Vision Zero a viable goal:

  1. The Traffic Safety Ombuds would develop, refine, and monitor the pursuit of a National Vision Zero Goal.
  2. The Traffic Safety Ombuds would oversee the White House Vision Zero Task Force.
  3. The Traffic Safety Ombuds would be the watchdog to make sure that the Vision Zero Executive Order and Vision Zero rulemaking were carried out appropriately on behalf of travelers on the road.

Makes sense to me. Because, really, who would be given the responsibility and authority to oversee these things otherwise?! This could be the turning point in our drive to see a Vision Zero policy adopted. (Hallelujah Chorus).

Now all we have to do is get the ear of President Obama and persuade him to appoint this very important person.

Traffic Safety Ombudsman

I don’t particularly care what the position/Office ends up being called (Ombudsman, Advocate, Ombuds). Just create it, Congress or President Obama or whoever has the authority to do so!