More than a million people die on roads every year. Meet the man determined to prevent them
Almost 30 years ago, a revolutionary idea changed the way #Europe regarded road collisions. It has probably saved countless lives but it's yet to be fully accepted by politicians.
"The most dangerous things on our streets are cars and trucks, multi-ton chunks of metal, glass and plastic designed to move at high speeds through urban and suburban environments that are, more often then not, designed for the flow of vehicles rather than the movement of people."
@TheWarOnCars "According to a study from the Florida Department of Transportation, cyclists and drivers comply with traffic laws at about the same rate: 88 percent for the former versus 85 percent for the latter. " No way. Drivers whenever possible speed. The only time one finds drivers not speeding is wheny they cannot due to congestion. Drivers feel entitled to drive 5MPH over whatever the posted #speedlimit is.
Effective summer 2023, the City of Long Beach is lowering speed limits throughout its streets! Following a vote from City Council in December 2022, the City is moving forward with posting reduced speed limits on 111 street segments totaling 92 miles. These include streets in all types of neighborhoods in every council district....
Reading a heartbreaking thread on a local #parenting page about how to teach #children to be afraid of streets, because streets are not #safe.
We do not have to accept--and force our #kids to accept--that #streets are not safe. This is problem created entirely by a mentality that driving is the most sacred use of public space.
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. We created this problem; it's up to us--not our children--to fix it.
@wordshaper@DrTCombs I live in #Sheffield#UK. A local newspaper recently covered changes being made to a busy junction to reduce accidents. The comments from #petrolhead drivers about how this issue would be solved if children were taught better #roadsafety beggared belief. Some even proposed increasing the #speedlimit! No acknowledgement of the role drivers/cars play. Shocking that this is the value some #drivers place on human life. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Lots of #speedLimit signs in #Marin County also show the speed of the vehicle. Sometimes it curtails speeds as people don't realize how fast they are going.
Meanwhile in #Germany: #Berlin halts #tram and #bicycle extensions to prevent parking spaces from being removed, builds streets, extends the A100 city #Autobahn and allows parking on bus lanes.
"Legislative advocacy to address environmental and urban design factors that impact pedestrian safety. Pediatricians can work with local, state, or federal lawmakers to do the following..." (1/)
"a. Encourage support for #CompleteStreets policies and #VisionZero.
b. Support legislation to reduce speed limits in urban areas, including areawide #20mph zones, and to permit photo #SpeedLimit enforcement in critical areas, including school zones.
c. Develop legislation to encourage or require adoption of safety technology, such as pedestrian detection systems and automatic braking in new vehicles." #AAP (2/)
New reduced speed limits rolled out in Long Beach (longbeach.gov)
Effective summer 2023, the City of Long Beach is lowering speed limits throughout its streets! Following a vote from City Council in December 2022, the City is moving forward with posting reduced speed limits on 111 street segments totaling 92 miles. These include streets in all types of neighborhoods in every council district....
Long Beach lowering speed limits throughout city, impacting more than 100 streets (abc7.com)
The city says 50 streets will now have speed limits of 20 miles per hour or less, making them "friendlier for bicyclists and pedestrians."