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.

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.

Dozens of FSS members held photos and shared their stories to press for congestion pricing at a rally with 800+ New Yorkers urging Governor Hochul to implement congestion pricing.

FSS members Laura Fredricks, Jay Hightman, Lindsay Caron, and Grandma Beverly Shelton powerfully share their stories on Bike Talk (second half of the episode) and talk about how they are fighting for change in Philadelphia, Richmond, Seattle, and L.A.

The New York State Legislature just passed a bill reauthorizing and expanding NYC’s red light camera program. The pilot red light camera program caught 700,000 drivers running red lights and putting New Yorkers lives at risk will now be allowed to quadruple in size. Thank you to all the families who traveled to Albany, testified in hearings, and shared their story to make this possible.

FSS members Patty Avery from Indiana, Delilah Smalley and Bill DeMott from Floria, and Beatriz Montano from Fresno shared their stories to support Smart Growth America’s latest Dangerous by Design report and the need to fix our roadways. Check out press coverage from Streetsblog USA as well as local coverage from Pittsburgh to Fresno and watch Patty Avery on the DxD webinar.

Washington DC may soon be requiring speed limiters for repeat speeding offenders thanks to the efforts of the DC chapter. Jessica Williams gave powerful testimony at the DC Council Hearing and Dana Williams wrote a powerful OpEd. You can read more here.

California FSS chapters are helping lead the flight for safe new vehicles. The Senate just passed our first-in-the-nation legislation (SB 961) to require new vehicles to be equipped with passive speed governors — alerting drivers when they exceed 10 MPH over the speed limit. Studies show that this technology gets people to slow down. It saves lives. Thank you to Jenny Yu for speaking so powerfully in favor of this bill. Read more here and here.

FSS Philadelphia Area chapter co-chair Latanya Byrd led the fight to secure and expand the speed camera program in Philadelphia. The data is now in and it’s proven to save lives.

Dozens of FSS members were among 160+ advocates from across the country participating in Capitol Hill Roadway Safety Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. - an unprecedented gathering of those who have lost loved ones or themselves suffered an injury crash. Advocates shared stories with lawmakers, focusing on life-saving solutions including Complete Streets, Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), Impaired Driving Technology, and Post-Crash care. FSS joined the Road to Zero Coalition’s Annual Meeting including a fireside chat with NSC Director Lorraine Martin and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who later shared a tweet celebrating the passage of Sammy’s Law in New York and emphasizing that there is much more work yet to be done to address this national epidemic of deaths and serious injuries on our roadways. The event was organized by FSS in conjunction with the National Safety Council, StopDistractions.org, and It Could Be Me. Check out some new coverage from the pres conference here.

Governor Wes Moore stood with FSS member Dan Langenkamp as he signed the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Memorial Act into law. The bill is named after Dan’s wife, Sarah, who was killed in August of 2022 while riding her bike along River Road in Bethesda after returning from the Ukraine, because it was too dangerous, where she was a high level diplomat. The driver of a flatbed truck hit her while turning right into a parking lot, as she was in a bike lane. The bill increases penalties for drivers who hit cyclists on the shoulder or in bike lanes. Under the bill just signed by the governor, a driver who strikes a cyclist in a bike lane could face up to $2,000 in fines and two months in jail. Read Dan’s OpEd and coverage in Maryland Matters.