Tell Mayor Bowser to follow through on her commitment to Vision Zero!

Families of traffic crash victims, road safety advocates, and community members commemorate World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims with signs honoring loved ones who were killed or seriously injured due to traffic crashes. Members of the District of Columbia chapter of Families for Safe Streets installed signs at over 50 crash sites across all eight Wards memorializing fatal crashes.
Traffic violence is a preventable public health crisis. World Day of Remembrance is an international event, started in 2005, honoring the 1.35 million people killed and millions more injured on the world’s roads each year and organizing for change to prevent such tragedies.

2023 World Day of Remembrance in DC

This World Day of Remembrance, we’re calling for urgent change. So far in 2023, drivers have killed at least 44 people and injured over 5,500 loved ones—the highest in 16 years. It doesn’t have to be like this. Evidence shows how we can prevent fatal and serious crashes: through street design, vehicle size, and slower speeds.

In 2015, Mayor Bowser committed to reaching zero traffic deaths by 2024; that initiative has failed. But it’s not too late. District leaders can fully implement the laws and policies to save lives that we want, the Mayor committed to, and that the DC Council passed into law.

Vision Zero is more than rhetoric. It’s about making choices to save lives by slowing down cars and reducing our reliance on them. In fact, implementing safe street policies is all the more imperative now as DC seeks to draw workers and visitors back to the city. Mayor Bowser can set our beautiful, walkable city back on the right track so that no one has to worry about the threat of traffic violence for their family, friends, neighbors, and themselves. 

The Bowser administration must keep its promise. We demand that you fully fund and implement laws and initiatives to keep our loved ones and our communities safe from life-shattering traffic violence. These include:

Safe Roads

• Build the K Street Transitway as originally designed, prioritizing bus and protected bike infrastructure.
• End the delay and build the Connecticut Avenue protected bike lanes.

Safe Road Users

• Enforce bus-only lanes with cameras to prioritize a high quality public transportation experience.

Safe Speeds

• Support the current legislative package under consideration to correct the failures that allow reckless drivers to endanger themselves and others with impunity and establish reciprocity with our neighboring jurisdictions.

Safe Vehicles

• Commit to retrofitting the DC vehicle fleet with truck under-ride guards and intelligent speed assistance, like New York City has successfully piloted.

Post Crash Care

• Improve speed and accuracy in 911/OUC call center operations and provide transparency about failures. 

These plans have been studied, piloted, designed, and tested. They serve to slow vehicle traffic, improve transit, and provide climate-friendly infrastructure for all road users. They will save lives.