Street safety changes could’ve saved my friend from fatal collision
One of my dearest friends, Julia Elkin, was struck and killed by a car last month. Julia was exceptional. She was the kind of person you wish the world was full of – a generous, hilarious, creative soul whose life’s work in climate adaptation centered around improving our lives. Julia’s death has devastated everyone who knew her, and it was entirely preventable. As in many other traffic fatalities, the street where Julia was hit is notoriously dangerous.
Julia’s death was avoidable, and the next ones are, too, if the Legislature chooses conscience over convenience. California lawmakers made progress last year by passing Assembly Bill 413, which prohibited parking near crosswalks, but there is vastly more work to be done. Right now, legislators have two opportunities to get closer to ending these senseless deaths: Senate Bills 960 and 961.
SB 960 would require Caltrans to execute on its own policies to build state roads with sidewalks, crosswalks, narrower lanes and other components that make roads work for all users. Caltrans adopted a policy in 2021 to plan for so-called “complete streets” (with designated space for cars, pedestrians, bikes and safe access to mass transit), yet only about 20% of the agency’s projects meet the criteria.
SB 961 would limit how fast cars can go above the legal speed limit since speeding is the No. 1 factor that determines if a collision is fatal. This bill would also require new trucks to have side underride guards, so people don’t get pulled underneath a truck, which increases the deadliness of an accident.
The reality is that driving behavior is getting worse. Speeding and distracted driving are leading factors in traffic collisions: A car that hits a pedestrian at 35 mph is five times more likely to kill them than at 20 mph. Speeding also increased during the pandemic, and experts say the change appears to be lasting.
Addressing speeding and street design ultimately requires overcoming the false divide of “drivers versus pedestrians.” As drivers, we should all be demanding changes. Ask yourself: What would you do if you took the life of a child, a best friend, a parent? Safe-streets bills like SB 960 and SB 961 could have saved Julia’s life. With lawmakers’ support, they can save so many others.
Nicole Efron works in clean energy and is a street safety advocate based in San Francisco.