We Need Safe Streets

As a mother and the state representative for over 465,000 people, the safety and well-being of all Californians is always on my mind. For years I’ve been particularly concerned about the increasing risks for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists on our roads. Motor vehicle crashes are the fourth leading cause of premature death in Los Angeles County. Year after year, coast-to-coast, communities across our nation have seen a steady increase in the number and severity of traffic-related injuries and fatalities. In 2020, over 42,000 Americans lost their lives to traffic collisions, while 4.8 million road users were seriously injured. This is especially true in California where we saw over 3,800 traffic-related fatalities just last year. While there isn’t any single root reason behind this ever-increasing threat, there is one factor that dominates all the others – speeding.

For many of us, stay-at-home orders meant we were spending dramatically less time on the roads. But unfortunately, some drivers took advantage of our less congested streets by speeding, showing a disregard for the safety of other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. Traffic deaths nationwide grew about 24% in 2020, according to the National Safety Council. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, speeding is the leading cause behind 31% of all traffic fatalities. If we want to tackle traffic violence, we must find a way to compel drivers to maintain safer speeds.

Research has shown that a reduction of five miles per hour in speed results in an 8%-15% reduction in injuries, with some studies showing a 39% reduction in injuries. A range of research also suggests lowering speed limits may result in the number of fatalities dropping by 10% to 30%, while reducing fatalities for vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists by 80%-96%. It is time for us to recognize and implement slower speeds on local roadways, backed by research and engineering.

Throughout my time in the legislature, I have been proposing and collaborating on measures every year to curb reckless driving, street racing and speeding. My first successful measure, AB 2363, passed in 2018, created the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force to perform a deep dive into the data of traffic collisions, the key causal factors and our existing policies around regulating speed. The task force’s recommendations formed the foundation for my bill AB 43, which aims to create a pathway for our cities to promote safer streets for all and reduce traffic collisions.

Under current law, municipalities and the state set speeds using an antiquated methodology called the 85th percentile rule. Under the 85th percentile rule, speed limits are set every few years by measuring the speed at which 85% of vehicles drive on a road. In other words, the speed limit must be set to accommodate speeding cars regardless of how unsafe that makes a road. It is a process rooted in the idea that speed limits are safest when they match the natural velocity of the majority of drivers. However, all that has resulted from this methodology is constantly increasing speed limits that fail to take into account the safety of a road for all users.

If successful, AB 43 will provide local governments with more flexibility on setting speed limits based on factors such as safety and traffic collision data. This bill requires traffic surveyors to take into account the presence of vulnerable groups, including children, seniors, the unhoused and persons with disabilities, when setting speed limits. It permits cities to lower speed limits beyond the 85th percentile on streets with a high level of injuries and fatalities, and ensures they will never again have to raise a speed limit on any road because of “speed creep.”

In addition to AB 43, I’m working with my colleagues in my role as the chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee to bring forward more direly-needed policies to improve road safety. I’m coauthoring Assemblymember Vince Fong’s AB 3, which will authorize courts to suspend or restrict driver’s licenses for those convicted of participating in motor vehicle sideshows. I also partnered with Assemblymember David Chiu to introduce AB 550, which would have allowed automated enforcement of speed limits in high injury networks. This bill stalled earlier this year, but I am committed to bringing it back next year.

I’m proud to report that thus far these efforts have received strong, bipartisan support. However, that support doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. Reforming traffic laws is tricky and I’ve learned over the years that there are a lot of stakeholders with a wide range of perspectives. However, the need for these measures keeps hitting close to home. Just this month, street racing took the lives of three innocent young people in Burbank. I know that here in the Crescenta Valley we’re not strangers to these horrific and senseless incidents of vehicle violence, which is why this year I hope my colleagues and the governor will support our efforts to make our streets safer.          

What do you think about these measures? As always, please reach out to me with any comments, questions or concerns through my District Office at (818) 558-3043 or Assemblymember.Friedman@Assembly.ca.gov.