Please join Families for Safe Streets in commemorating World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Together, as those who have been personally impacted by crashes, we will join with the Vision Zero Network, It Could Be Me, the Road to Zero, and other street safety organizations, community members, faith leaders, elected officials, and dignitaries from across the country and around the globe to REMEMBER, SUPPORT, and ACT.Each year, 1.35 million people are killed around the world in traffic crashes. Over 100 Americans are killed every single day and millions more are injured each year.Together we can amplify the heartbreaking cost of traffic crashes and the urgent need for change. Read our national press release and the Vision Zero Network's call to action to learn more.
Want to plan an event in your community or help us spread the word about our virtual events? We are here to help you! Please fill out this form to find out more, get your detailed WDoR Organizer’s Toolkit and share your event information.
Header image: Evan Semón Photography for Denver Streets Partnership
National Training and Events
WDoR Event Planning Consultation, September 22 & 29Are you considering having a WDoR event? We can help you plan! Sign up for an individual 1:1 half-hour consultation session or join a group session to hear what others are doing. RSVP here.
How to Effectively and Strategically Engage the Press, Tuesday, October 11, 1 - 2:30 pm ET / 10 - 11:30 am PTThis "hands-on" training will help those personally impacted by traffic violence and Vision Zero advocates to successfully hone and catalyze their messaging for greater reach and impact.Led by Melissa Balmer, Founder of PedalLove.org, and Alexander Petti of Take On Communications, whose combined media placements include ABC News, Associated Press, CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, NPR affiliates, the Texas Standard, and more. RSVP here.
Storytelling Training, October 16, 6-8pm ET/ 3-5pm PTHave you been personally impacted in a crash but haven't felt equipped to share your story in the fight for change? At this hands-on two hour session, you will get the tools and support needed to home your personal story and identify the best channels to share it. Learn how to use the 10-step story map to create a powerful narrative and then choose the right kind of story for the job -- whether it is a blog, an OpEd, a rally speech, a brief testimonial, etc. Facilitated by street safety leader and former communications director Jim Brown, PedalLove founder Melissa Balmer, and crash survivor and media trainer Rick Holt. Limited to 25 participants. RSVP here.
Monthly Planning Meetings
August 9, September 13, October 11, November 8 with debrief on November 29th; 1 pm ET / 10 am PTJoin us monthly to learn more about WDoR and how it can help elevate your local advocacy efforts. RSVP here for Zoom link. Note that the 10/11 planning session is dedicated to media training (see above for details)Individual Consultation
September 22 & 29, October 24 & 26Let us know you plan your event with 1:1 consultation. RSVP here.Media ConsultationWant help pitching a local story and/or drafting an op-ed? Want to hone your interview skills? Media consultants Angie Schmitt and Melissa Balmer are available to help you! RSVP here.Virtual Candle Lighting, Monday, November 21, 8pm ET/5pm PTJoin those who have been personally impacted by crashes from across the country for a one-hour virtual candle-lighting and memorial slideshow to remember those we have lost or have been seriously injured, reflect on our WDoR activities, and jointly support one another for the work ahead. Please share a photo of your loved one, your injury, and/or your local WDoR event for our virtual memorial slideshow. Please email photos no later than Sunday, November 20th to info@familiesforsafestreets.org. RSVP here.
All events are virtual — please click links to RSVP for login details.
EST/PST are only listed for simplicity, but participants from across the country are all invited and encouraged to join!
Local Events
More than 50 communities across the U.S. will lead actions calling attention to this roadway safety crisis and the fact that this is not a series of isolated incidents but rather a predictable and preventable problem with known solutions.WDoR events are organized by crash survivors, people who have lost loved ones, safety champions, and others. The goals are to remember those injured and killed in crashes and to call on decision makers to take specific actions to stem this leading cause of death. Actions will spotlight known safety strategies, including redesigning dangerous roads, lowering speeds, improving vehicle design, and other investments in safety over speed.All who support the goal of safe mobility for all are invited to participate in this year’s WDoR local events.Want to plan an event in your community or help us spread the word about our virtual events? Please fill out this form to find out more, get your detailed WDoR Organizer’s Toolkit and share your event information.
Take Action Now: #SafeStreetsSaveLives
This World Day of Remembrance, demand that your local, state, and federal government join in the fight to end the crisis of traffic violence on our roadways because #SafeStreetsSaveLives. These tragedies are not unavoidable "accidents." In fact, roadway crashes are largely predictable and preventable by leveraging the proven policies and practices to prioritize safety.Far too many roads are designed for driving too fast and they lack safe space for people walking, bicycling and using wheelchairs. But, the good news is that we can fix these roads to make them safe and more welcoming to all road users.With the recent passage of the federal Infrastructure bill, we have an historic opportunity to direct billions of dollars towards fixing deadly roads and improving walking and biking conditions -- particularly for communities that have been traditionally underserved.It is long past time to pushback on the age-old excuse that "there is not enough money" to fix dangerous streets. The federal government just allocated over $100 billion to improve our infrastructure.This WDoR, we are demanding that the funds be used to end the soaring crisis on our roadways because #SafeStreetsSaveLives. Any project that includes changes to a street or road is an opportunity to improve safety. Filling a pothole? Consider adding a speed hump. Re-striping a street? Add a marked crosswalk. Moreover, some of the most effective solutions don't require tearing up a road to make streets safer including lowering speed limits and implementing automated enforcement.Now is the time to act because the U.S. is an outlier. According to a recent report on traffic crashes from the Center for Disease Control, the United States is one of the most dangerous industrialized nations in terms of traffic violence. We had the highest population-based (per capita) death rate, the sixth-highest distance-based death rate, and the fourth-highest vehicle-based death rate among countries with data available. From 2015 to 2019, the U.S. population-based death rate increased nominally by 0.1%, whereas the average percent change of the other high-income countries declined by 10.4%. The United States experienced small decreases in distance-based and vehicle-based death rates, but these were well below the average decreases among other high-income countries.And during the pandemic, the United States has experienced the highest increases in traffic deaths in over a century, but traffic deaths actually declined in recent years in nearly every other industrialized nation. Why are we different? Because the policies and systems in place support roads that value speeding cars and not saving lives.With roadway deaths at a historic high, it is time to stop accepting excuses --- and start operating from the knowledge that all road deaths are preventable.Read our national press release and the Vision Zero Network's call to action to learn more.
WE KNOW ZERO IS POSSIBLEZero traffic deaths is achievable and, for the most part, we know how to do it. Based on a growing body of data, expert analysis and reliable projections, we have the tools and the know-how needed to reduce traffic deaths by 75% in the next 30 years. A combination of policy changes, modernized road designs, and advanced technologies exist today and
can be implemented to save lives.
Sermons for Safe Streets
Sadly, the epidemic of traffic crashes is one that unites us all. People of every faith, neighborhood, race, class, gender, age, ability and political affiliation are hit personally by this issue.We invite all faith leaders to use their pulpits, prayers and programming to remind communities that
we are all part of the solution.
Take the "Crash Not Accident" Pledge
Traffic crashes are fixable problems, caused by dangerous streets and unsafe drivers.
They are not accidents. Pledge to stop using the word "accident" today.
Families for Safe Streets (FSS) confronts the epidemic of traffic violence by advocating for life-saving changes and providing support to those who have been impacted by crashes. Comprised of individuals who have been injured or lost loved ones, FSS was founded in 2014 in New York City and is growing as a national movement with chapters across the country.info@familiesforsafestreets.org
(844) 377-7337