Southern California FSS member Michel Shane continues to fight for change along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) – one of the state’s deadliest stretches. Shane’s award-winning documentary, 21 Miles in Malibu, was inspired by the 2010 death of his 14-year-old daughter Emily Rose Shane at the hands of a reckless, speeding driver who struck Emily intentionally as she approached the crosswalk. In his recent testimony to the Senate Transportation Committee, where he advocated for SB 1297, legislation supporting speed cameras for the city of Malibu, Shane noted the 170 pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and passengers killed and severely injured by drivers on PCH. He joined parents of four Pepperdine students killed as they walked along PCH in 2023 by a driver traveling 104 MPH. Shane has been such a vocal contributor to the city’s newspaper that they’ve given him a bi-weekly column focused on efforts to slow speeds on PCH.

After her husband Matt Keenan was killed by a reckless driver in 2021, Laura Keenan founded the San Diego chapter of Families for Safe Streets and has become a leading voice for better road design in her community. Laura and her young son Evan show the power of FSS testimonials to call attention to crucial yet often overlooked road safety policy. Laura recently shared Matt’s story with NPR to underscore the importance of a critical but overlooked road safety resource — the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

Families for Safe Streets member Gina LaBlanc returned to her son Kyle’s crash site for the first time since he lost his life there at the hands of a speeding tow truck driver in 2016. Joining Mayor Matt Mahan and city officials, Gina welcomed a $12.9M federal infrastructure grant to improve some of the city’s deadliest intersections, including Canoas Garden and Curtner Avenue, where Kyle and too many others in San Jose have been killed over the years. The money will help to build a protected intersection separating bikes from traffic, a new sidewalk to fill the section that is missing, and traffic signal improvements. Gina’s relentless advocacy in a community where over 60 people were killed by drivers in 2022 is a guiding light.