NSC, traffic safety advocates ask Biden administration ‘to engage and lead’ on mission to eliminate roadway deaths by 2050

Itasca, IL — The Road to Zero Coalition – managed by the National Safety Council – as well as a group of more than 70 organizations and individuals dedicated to traffic safety, has sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to make the elimination of roadway deaths one of his administration’s most urgent priorities.

Acknowledging in a press release that the administration’s “immediate focus will be rightly on ending the COVID-19 pandemic,” the group nonetheless urges Biden to maintain focus on other persistent killers, noting that traffic incidents remain the leading cause of death among people ages 1-25 while claiming nearly 40,000 lives each year.

The letter, dated Jan. 20, also makes a personal appeal to Biden, whose first wife and daughter died as a result of a traffic incident in 1972. The letter encourages the president to “engage and lead on this topic globally” and advance policies in his administration.

“We are committed to roadway safety and know what it takes to achieve zero deaths,” the letter states. “It will take action at the local, state and federal levels. A commitment by you and your administration to prioritize safety, including adopting the Safe System approach, will provide the leadership needed to save lives. By making a public comment early in your administration to end roadway fatalities by 2050, you will demonstrate the importance of safe mobility for all and set the tone at the federal level to prioritize safety in planning and policy.”

Lorraine M. Martin, NSC president and CEO and chair of the Road to Zero Coalition, offers support to the Biden administration in the release.

“Our organizations look forward to working with the new administration,” Martin said, “and we stand ready to assist in any way we can.”