Joy Covey helped catapult Amazon.com from a small company
to the global powerhouse it is today. Earlier this year, on a bicycle
ride in San Mateo County, Calif., she was struck by a delivery van and
killed. She
was 50 years old.
Joy is one of hundreds of men and women killed while bicycling or walking on our streets each year.
This has to change -- and a one-sentence bill in Congress could do it.
Please contact your members of
Congress today to ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 3494 / S. 1708, which
requires the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and state DOTs to
account for
and work to reduce bicyclist and pedestrian deaths. Take
Action Here.
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that biking and walking fatalities have
continued to increase – now representing 16.3 percent of all traffic
deaths and a total
of 5,469 people killed.
Last year, Congress mandated the US DOT to set performance
goals, including safety goals. We believe that those goals should
include a plan to make biking safer. However, the US DOT has refused to
set a safety
goal for non-motorized transportation.
Congress doesn't agree: Members of the House and Senate,
from both sides of the aisle, have introduced identical bills
specifically requiring US DOT to set a goal to reduce the deaths of
those biking and walking.
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act states clearly that the lives of all roadway users are important -- and creates accountability toward ending needless deaths.
It gives US DOT the flexibility to determine the best
method to meet these safety measures, and calls on our leaders to reduce
the number of people biking and walking who are killed or injured on
our streets
every year.
It’s time that we all stand together to say that the
deaths of bicyclists and pedestrians deserve to be counted and
prevented, too. Please help us build the momentum for this important
legislation by contacting
your members of Congress to ask them to co-sponsor these bipartisan
bills.
Without it, people who bike and walk, like Joy, will remain in the blindspot of our transportation system.
Join this effort, and tell your lawmakers to vote for these straightforward, bi-partisan bills. Take
action.
Thank you for your support!
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