I recently spoke with CBS News and Stations about what it means to lose a loved one to traffic violence. It is an unwanted privilege to speak out and share stories of Allie. Mine is only one story. There are so many others. 👉🏻 This is a national crisis of our own making. We design streets to allow drivers to go faster. We design cars to go fast and be comfortable for their occupants. 👉🏻 It doesn’t have to be this way. What can be done? @NHTSAgov & @usdot MUST regulate vehicle size & weight. Your kid might survive being struck by a car; by an SUV, not so much. Cars & guns are the 2 most deadly scenarios for kids. Both of our own making. 👉🏻 We can STOP FUNDING HIGHWAY EXPANSION and actually invest in other transit options. This story talks about $2b for safe streets projects but not about the BILLIONS MORE for same-old ideas that got us here. 👉🏻 We can expect our DOTs to act proactively. As @DDOTDC Dir Kershbaum said, where they’ve done safe streets projects, they’ve seen results. But many projects take YEARS of advocacy. And some are too late, like for Kaidyn and Nina and Allie. 💔 👉🏻 I don’t think it’s unreasonable to believe that our leaders can do better. In fact, this @USDOT is already doing more than has been done in decades! It’s still not enough. Time to stop fixin’ to do, as @BethOsborneT4A said, and DO. Time to stop waiting for the advocates, the deaths. Time to stop believing these tragedies are inevitable. Time to do the hard things. Because let me tell you: I do hard things. Every 👏🏻 single 👏🏻 person 👏🏻 who has lost a loved one to traffic violence does hard things 24 hours/day. If we can, so can our elected leaders, our experts, our agency heads. So can YOU, by refusing to accept the status quo. https://lnkd.in/ejC3NiKX
Traffic deaths rise in U.S. cities despite billions spent to make streets safer
cbsnews.com
Your courage to speak out is truly inspiring! 💪 Change starts with individuals like you.
Thank you for sharing this, Jessica, and simultaneously heartbroken that you had to do this interview
National Investigative Correspondent
6moThank you Jessica for your brave courage. For speaking out in order to make a difference. May your ...and Allie's story... serve as catalyst for change.