Traffic Justice
Why You Shouldn’t Trust Media Coverage That Blames Pedestrians for Getting Struck
Police and local reporters rushed to blame a 14-year-old girl who was struck by a speeding driver in a marked crosswalk.
September 20, 2017
How to Counter the Victim-Blaming Impulse After a Traffic Crash
When a driver strikes someone walking or biking, the tendency to blame the victim runs deep. Ask Raquel Nelson, who lost her young son to a hit-and-run driver, then got convicted for vehicular homicide, even though she was just trying to walk across the street with her children from a bus stop to her home. Or witness the reaction to the death of Amanda Phillips, who was struck by a truck driver while biking in Boston last week.
June 27, 2016
Will the New “Free Range Kids Law” Protect Parents Who Let Kids Walk?
Last spring, Alexander and Danielle Meitiv became public faces of the "Free Range Kids" movement when their children were picked up by police in Silver Spring, Maryland, while walking home from a local park.
January 5, 2016
Brutal Jaywalking Arrest in Austin Caught on Video
Austin police were captured on video beating a group of "jaywalkers" into submission late last Wednesday in an incident that reeks of racial profiling.
November 9, 2015
Driver Who Rammed Minneapolis Protestors Charged With Traffic Offenses
The motorist who drove through a Minneapolis street protest last November, injuring a teenage girl, was charged with misdemeanor traffic offenses.
March 25, 2015
Driver Who Plowed Into Minneapolis Protesters Won’t Be Charged
Hennepin County prosecutors will not charge the driver who plowed into a Minneapolis street protest late last year, injuring a 16-year-old girl.
February 17, 2015
No Charges for Driver Who Plowed Into Protesters in Minneapolis
UPDATED 11/28/14 at 8:48 a.m.: The Pioneer Press is reporting that late Wednesday police changed the status of the driver from "victim" to "suspect."
November 26, 2014
Families of NYC Traffic Violence Victims Band Together for Safer Streets
On Sunday, New Yorkers who've lost loved ones to traffic violence gathered on the steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan to launch Families for Safe Streets, a new initiative advocating for street designs and traffic enforcement that will save lives. In this moving Streetfilm, members of Families for Safe Streets talk about their goals and why they're speaking out.
February 25, 2014
Sidewalk-Jumping Driver Claims Children He Hurt Were “Reckless”
This fall, 90-year-old Edward Nelson lost control of his vehicle, jumped the curb, and pinned two six-year-old twins against a wall with his BMW SUV in Menlo Park, California.
January 9, 2014