World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Attendees standing vigil for the 22 victims of traffic violence in Durham during 2022. Luminaries were placed in the outside lanes of Guess Road at the trail crossing as a symbol of the type of measure that we would like considered to make this crossing, where Matt Simpson was killed while on his bicycle, safer for everyone.

On the Sunday, November 20, about 50 of us gathered at Westover Park for Bike Durham’s first observance of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.  It was a simple, yet powerful event.  We called for the City to complete a Vision Zero Action Plan by next November showing the roadmap for getting to zero deaths or serious injuries from traffic violence.  We also called for the City Council to fund a full-time, dedicated Vision Zero Coordinator to lead this work. 

Tyler Dewey, representing the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said that for those who are walking, biking, or rolling on Durham’s streets, “The dangers are clear to us, but they don’t define us…Our vulnerability is not inherent to our bodies. It is imposed on us by systems and institutions that value speed over human life.” He continued, “There is a way forward…We must build for a people-centered future, rather than our car-dependent present.”

City transportation director Sean Egan confirmed the City’s commitment to Vision Zero and said that the city has applied, together with the regional transportation planning organization, for a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant to develop a regional Vision Zero Action Plan.

Council member Javiera Caballero also spoke, challenging Durham residents to tackle transportation safety challenges the same way that we have tackled affordable housing. She said, “We need to be the…leader in the state. I know we can do it. When we put a bond, which is coming, in front of you all, we need you to resoundingly vote yes.”

Bike Durham executive director John Tallmadge and Bridget Bell lighting a candle for the vigil

Then Bridget Bell read a statement prepared by her friend Allison Simpson - widow of Matt Simpson who was killed while riding his bike across Guess Road, just steps from where we gathered.  This emotional moment was followed by lighting hand-held candles and reading the names of the twenty-two road traffic victims who had died this year in Durham, as well as 14-year old Riverside student Aliyah Thornhill who was killed while walking on a dark road in Oak Ridge, NC on Halloween.

We finished the vigil by placing luminaries in the outside lanes of Guess Road to narrow it from four lanes to two at the crossing where Matt Simpson was killed.  Twenty-two of the luminaries had the names of the victims and/or the dates of their crash. We all stood for twenty-two minutes to honor their memories and watched drivers slowly pass using the two center lanes of Guess Road.  We were grateful to the Durham Police Department for keeping us safe while we placed the luminaries in the street and retrieved them, and for producing this video summary of the event.

The following day at the city council meeting, council member Monique Holsey-Hyman (who also attended Sunday’s vigil) read a Mayor’s proclamation recognizing November 20th, 2022 as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in Durham. Allison Simpson was able to make brief remarks virtually on Zoom in accepting the proclamation. You can watch the reading and Allison’s remarks here.

Our local event, covered by CBS 17 and ABC 11, was part of a larger, growing movement for Vision Zero across the country and world.  More than sixty communities in the U.S. and hundreds across the world held Day of Remembrance events on November 20th (recap here) with the theme of “Remember. Support. Act”.  

Importantly, US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sat down for an interview recognizing the Day of Remembrance (you can read remarks from the Secretary and watch a recording of his comments here). This was an important reminder that this year the federal government has set a direction to eliminate deaths and serious injuries.  NCDOT adopted a Vision Zero policy in 2015, the City of Durham adopted a Vision Zero resolution in 2017, and our regional transportation planning organization adopted a goal of zero deaths or serious injuries due to traffic violence by 2050.  

The direction has been set and is aligned from the federal to the state to the regional to the local level.  But resolutions and policy statements won’t save lives. This past Sunday, The NY Times ran a story about how the number of roadway deaths in the U.S. began increasing in recent years while it has continued to fall in countries across the world.

Now it is past time for our leaders and government agencies to act on their commitments.  Bike Durham will be working with partners and supporters to move our local, regional, and state governments to action in Durham, starting with our calls for a Vision Zero Action Plan to be completed by the 2023 Day of Remembrance and for funding a full-time, dedicated Vision Zero Coordinator.