By Peter Norton Op-ed: The Vietnam wall changed the way Americans think about war. For traffic violence, the transformative power of a well-conceived national memorial is still untapped. READ THE FULL ARTICLE…
By Rachel Weiner, Washington Post January 15, 2025: “In 2020, Virginia passed a law intended to make it easier to prosecute driverswho hit pedestrians or cyclists. But prosecutors across the state have brought charges under the law 32 times in the last four years. In only eight of those cases was someone convicted of the charge. It’s a national problem with what are known as “vulnerable road user” laws, which generally penalize “careless or distracted” driving that results in a serious injury or death for someone outside a car. The laws are meant to punish drivers in those scenarios who, because they weren’t speeding, drunk or…
Published January 12, 2025 The advisory board of Fairfax Families for Safe Streets submitted comments to Fairfax County leaders asking them to commit to improving pedestrian safety, active transportation infrastructure, and public transportation with approved site plans, should they decide to move forward with the developer’s proposed project at 3033 Chain Bridge Road, commonly know as the AT&T site. Our comments are available here: AT&T Development Pedestrian Safety Comments…
NoVA FSS RELEASES INAUGURAL STUDY ON VDOT’S TREDS DATA OF PEDESTRIAN / BIKE CRASHES IN ALEXANDRIA, ARLINGTON & FAIRFAX For Immediate Release: December 10, 2024 Alexandria, VA: Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS), the leading pedestrian safety advocacy organization in Northern Virginia and with affiliated FSS chapters in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax (collectively NoVA FSS) has released its inaugural study on VDOT’s TREDS ped / bike crash data for: Each NoVA FSS chapter’s report of the TREDS data brings awareness to the long-standing and increasing risks of street safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users in the communities of Northern Virginia.…
By Julie Carey, NBC Washington Published December 6, 2024 The teen’s death becomes the 20th pedestrian or cyclist fatality in Fairfax County so far this year, double the number killed last year. “The numbers are going in the wrong direction,” said Chris French from Fairfax Families for Safe Streets. Pedestrian- and bicyclist-involved crashes steadily increased in the county each year from 2020, French said. There have been 211 pedestrian-involved crashes leading to injury in Fairfax County this year, French said. That’s down from last year’s count of 237 and up from 134 in 2020. Watch the full story: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/girl-14-struck-and-killed-by-car-in-fairfax-county/3786120…
NoVA FSS participated in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ recent Street Smart pedestrian’s street safety promotional campaign where the utility of our Near Miss crowd sourced dashboard was referenced in the NBC news story. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/transit-safety-campaign-implements-new-immersive-way-to-gauge-drivers-attention/3753593…
By The Fairfax Machine Published October 15, 2024 In two September weeks in Fairfax County, six drivers fatally struck six pedestrians from Hybla Valley to Centreville. The string of incidents made last month the county’s deadliest of the year for pedestrians — and it made Chris French, once again, reflect. “I think people have sort of numbed themselves to it: ‘Oh, it’s a shame that person got hit, but they were walking across the street,’” French, president of the Fairfax chapter of Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets, said late last week. “Almost as if they were asking for it, when these are people just trying…
Author: Matthew Torres Published: 6:26 PM EDT September 30, 2024 Updated: 6:26 PM EDT September 30, 2024 ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A new report by a regional advocacy group found traffic near-miss incidents at the same location are happening more frequently in parts of northern Virginia. In its inaugural “Near Miss/Dangerous Location” summary report, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS) said out of the 2,500 reports from January 2023 to June 2024, 82% had recurring dangerous events. “Whatever that location is, whatever the danger is, they see it all the time,” NoVA FSS Founder Mike Doyle said. “It’s gotten worse from two years ago.” The group began collecting data…
By Angela Woolsey Published September 27, 2024 at 9:00AM If you nearly get swiped by a turning car while walking across a street in Fairfax County, there’s a good chance that you or another community member has had a similar experience in that same spot before, newly released survey data indicates. The inaugural “Near Miss/Dangerous Location” summary report from the Fairfax chapter of Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NOVA FSS) found that 90% of the incidents recorded by pedestrians and cyclists since 2020 were recurring events — a higher rate than in Arlington (82%) or Alexandria (74%), the two other jurisdictions analyzed by the volunteer-run nonprofit. The amount of incidents flagged…
The Fairfax FSS Safe Streets News for September 2024 is now available! Would you like to receive our newsletter in your inbox each month? Just sign up!…
