Remembering Road Traffic Victims as Numbers Climb
/World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a worldwide event, now in its 30th year, that honors and acknowledges the many people killed by cars.
Last year, Connecticut saw 367 victims, 90 of them pedestrians and cyclists. This year, the pace of fatalities continues. Connecticut will hold its first statewide event in Bushnell Park in Hartford on November 19.
The goals of WDoR are to provide a platform for road traffic victims and their families to:
Remember all the people killed and seriously injured on the roads.
Acknowledge the crucial work of the emergency services.
Advocate for better support for road traffic victims and victim families.
Promote evidence-based actions to prevent further road traffic deaths and injuries.
On Sunday, November 19 between 1-3 pm family members of victims will speak, there will be a roll call of those pedestrians and cyclists who have died, prayers given by a faith leader, and some words from legislators.
Plans call for a sea of over 600 small white flags, representing those who have been killed on Connecticut roads in 2022 and 2023. Anyone who has lost a loved one due to a vehicle crash is invited to attend, as well as survivors and others who care about this issue.
Similar events were held in New Haven in 2020 and 2021. Bradley Street Bicycle Co-Op, a bicycle cooperative in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, coordinated in 2021, memorializing people killed or injured by traffic violence. They painted ghost bikes and memorial signs, read the names of victims of traffic violence in New Haven, and observed a moment of silence.
Nationally in the first half of 2021, 18.4% more people died in road traffic crashes compared to 2020, according to the recent U.S. Dept. of Transportation estimation. Last year, 42,060 people died on the U.S. roads, a 24% spike over the prior year in the rate of traffic deaths – the highest in 96 years – according to National Safety Council (NSC) estimates.
“CTDOT is and will always be committed to making our roadways and transportation systems safer for drivers, passengers, workers, pedestrians, and bicyclists,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto earlier this year. “After recording one of the deadliest years on our roadways in decades, Connecticut is heeding the USDOT’s call to action. Through education, enforcement, infrastructure improvements, and policy changes, we will utilize every available resource to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.”
The Bushnell Park event is made possible by a donation from Trantolo & Trantolo. Additional sponsors and supporters: Watch for Me CT, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, Connecticut Children’s Foundation, the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG), and the Connecticut Urbanists.
