Traffic justice — one advocate says we need a change in driving culture in order to achieve it.
Hundreds of advocates for pedestrian and traffic safety descend on Madison this week, for the 14th International Conference on Walking & Bicycling. Bob Chauncey, with the National Center for Bicycling & Walking, says the concept of traffic justice stemmed irritation with the status quo. “We continue in this country to kill forty-plus thousand people on our roads every year,” notes Chauncey, who'll be a presenter at Tuesday's Traffic Justice Institute, one of several special events at the conference. He says the goal is to change the way society views motor vehicle crashes. For example, things drivers should not be doing, like talking on cell phones, which “makes no sense.”
Chauncey says the current focus in traffic crashes– with the exception of drunk driving — tends towards blaming the victim. The Traffic Justice Institute suggests that holding drivers responsible for their actions may be one way to reduce crashes.
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14th International Conference on Walking & Bicycling