Over 100 family members of crash victims, crash survivors, advocates, and elected officials gathered in Flushing on Sunday to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. This event was one of 70+ WDoR events across the country. Check out coverage on NY1, PIX 11, and Noticias.

FSS member Lizi Rahman, who led the fight to transform the Queens Boulevard from a boulevard of death into a boulevard of life, joined NYC DOT for the announcement of further crucial safety improvements.

FSS member Monique Williams shared the story of her father at the Fleet Safety Forum. Her father was a lover of life who inspired her grandson to love the ocean. Killed by a turning truck driver, his story inspires us to fight for higher visibility in trucks.

FSS and Transportation Alternatives organized a vigil for 36-year-old Amanda Servedio who was killed while riding her bike home.

Thanks to the hard-fought work of FSS and Transportation Alternatives, Governor Hochul signed the reauthorization and expansion of the red light camera program into law.

FSS members in New York attended Community Board 1 to speak in support of the 20 mph regional slow zone south of Canal Street. FSS successfully fought for NYC to lower speed limits with passage of Sammy’s Law by the NYS legislature but now it’s up to the NYC Department of Transportation to implement it.

FSS members proudly joined NYCDOT after years of advocacy from our members and so many others to announce the first set of lower speed limits in NYC — on the street where Sammy Cohen Eckstein was killed. Coverage from NY1, PIX 11,NY Daily News, CBS News, US Sun, Staten Island Live,News 12, and AMNY.

FSS members joined Robin Felsher for a vigil to honor the memory of her wife Lori Kleinman. Lori was hit by an SUV driver on October 3, 2023, and passed away one day later on October 4.

FSS members from California and across the country shared their stories to fight for proven, common-sense life-saving technology. Read OpEds from Amy Cohen and Colin Campbell, see Joe Martinez on ABS news, read Lori Argumedo’s petition that garnered nearly 5,000 signatures, and read our press release after Governor Newsom’s veto.

FSS member Raul Ampuerro joined others to urge the NYS legislature to pass the a bill that would require “scramble” crosswalks outside all of its schools, allowing children to safely cross the street without the specter of auto traffic. He also urged rapid implementation of Sammy’s Law which allows NYC to lower its speed limit to 20 mph particularly near schools.

After ten years of study, Doctor Regina Bateson has published an article on FSS -- Finding Meaning in Politics: When Victims Become Activists. She demonstrates how through activism, FSS’ grief-advocates can re-conceptualize the losses and harms they have suffered as policy problems, rather than random, inexplicable events. She also argues that political involvement offers FSS members unique ways of finding meaning in the tragedies victims have suffered. Finally, she shares how emotional benefits often arise during collective action and meaning-making is an in-process benefit of activism.

FSS member Michelle DuBarry of Portland shares her grief journey in TheSun Magazine after losing son Seamus. FSS did not exist when Seamus was killed but we are committed to providing the support families need after their horrific loss or injury. No one should ever have to endure this heartache alone.

First, NYC passes Sammy's Law, then Albany lowers their speed limit to 25mph, and now Kingston is doing the same. In 2024, cities across NYS are adopting international best practices on speed management. FSS members have been there at every step.

FSS member Rose Quinn of Kingston,who lost her partner of 8 years, John Host Lynch, fought tirelessly for the change in Kingston and was instrumental in the success. Also check out her interview on Rise Up Radio.

FSS San Diego erected a "ghost bike" memorial along Dehesa Road in the unincorporated area of El Cajon where cyclist Kevin Wilson was hit and killed by a driver in January of 2020 and demanded that the city install traffic calming measures on the deadly roadway.

Founder of FSS San Diego chapter, Laura Keenan, testified in support of California SB 960 and shared her husband Matt’s story. In 2023, an estimated 4,000 people died on California’s roadways. More than 30% of these traffic deaths happened on state-owned roads. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Senate Bill 960, authored by Senator Scott Wiener, calls on the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to put this duty into consistent practice through focused investments in safety improvements and transit priority improvements on state highways that actually function as local roads, but are actually owned by Caltrans, which means that local governments and local transit agencies do not have control over them.

Check out Laura’s powerful testimony and take action to support SB960.

FSS members joined the family of Andy Gil to honor his life, on the second anniversary of his death, and the life of every New Yorker who has been killed by traffic violence in the congestion pricing zone. Participants held 83 sunflowers to symbolize each one of the 83 New Yorkers who have been killed in the zone since congestion pricing was passed into law in 2019.

Montgomery County member Mindy Badin testified on Capitol Hill at a Congressional Briefing about the Dangerous by Design report from Smart Growth America. Her son Brett was killed trying to walk to a dinner with some of his friends from his job program on Rockville Bike, a known dangerous street.

FSS members from across CA traveled to Sacramento to lobby for SB 961, legislation that would require vehicles manufactured or sold in California to have visual and audible alert signals when drivers exceed the speed limit by 10+ MPH. Lori Markowitz, whose advocacy work is featured in the Road to Zero Coalition’s recent newsletter, traveled from her home in Seattle to join peers in Sacramento earlier this month As many of our members have experienced, Lori’s son was killed outside the state where the family lives. Lori has become a vocal advocate in Los Angeles, as well as in Washington State and nationally.

What happened in the hearing room thanks to the presence of Families for Safe Streets was powerful, and sent an unforgettable message to lawmakers that they must act to save lives from dangerous speeding. 

SB 961 was passed that evening by the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee in a 8-3 vote, making it over another hurdle. Check out FSS member Joe Martinez’s powerful testimony and read more.

Kathy Sokolic shares powerfully about her nephew Ben who was seriously injured in a crash and suffered for five years before he succumbed to his injuries. Too many people die from their injuries after more than 30 days and not even counted in the numbers of people killed in crashes. The National Safety Council counts everyone who dies within one year which if they can do it, so should NHTSA. Read more in Streetsblog USA.