A March for Safer Roads

All across the nation on the weekend of November 21st, groups gathered to honor and remember those lost to traffic violence. This day is called World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. This day provides a platform for road traffic victims and their families to:

• remember all people killed and seriously injured on the roads

• acknowledge the crucial work of emergency services

• draw attention to the generally trivial response to road deaths and injuries

• advocate for better support for road traffic victims and families. (Contact SAFE if you need help or support through our SAFE Support program)

• promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road deaths and injuries

SAFE came together for World Day of Remembrance on Saturday, November 20th to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH with a March for Safer Streets Event. The event was put together by our Faith for Safer Streets Chapter led by Pastor Patricia Strong-Fargas, the Senior Pastor for Mt. Salem New Wave Christian Fellowship Church in South LA. Faith for Safer Streets is a coalition of faith leaders in the LA community who have come together to address the problem of increasing traffic violence in South LA. We were also joined by other representatives of community organizations in the LA area, such as Los Angeles Walks, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Conor Lynch Foundation, SoCal Families for Safe Streets, Street Racing Kills and hundreds of community members focused on bringing attention to the epidemic of traffic violence in this community.

With a staggering 63% increase in serious injuries and fatalities in South LA since 2019, these victims of traffic violence, faith leaders, members of the community, politicians, and civic leaders used their voices to say enough is enough on World Day of Remembrance.

You can view all photos on our Facebook page.




Did You Know?

Los Angeles is known as the deadliest major city in the US for traffic crashes and is the hit-and-run capital of the US -- an average of 48% of all collisions in LA are hit-and-runs -- South LA is the epicenter of this public health crisis. In 2020, despite a sharp decrease in the number of cars on the road due to the pandemic, South LA saw a 23% increase in serious injuries and fatalities.

Issues such as speeding, distracted or impaired driving, and a lack of investment in safer road infrastructure to protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists have resulted in a majority of the most dangerous in Los Angeles being clustered in South Los Angeles. These corridors, listed as part of the high injury network in the City of Los Angeles, include streets like Figueroa, Manchester, and Vermont, the very streets that we marched along that Saturday. It's time to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and fight for transportation equity and the end of the skyrocketing traffic violence.

To hear more about this event, to get involved in the fight for safer streets, or find out other ways you can help, contact us at Info@StreetsAreForEveryone.org