Pass With Care
If passed, this bill would update crash test protocols to include gender, age, and accessibility.
Happy World Creativity & Innovation Day, riders!
Probable Cause is an XR civic education gaming experience that puts you in the driver’s seat during a routine traffic stop. Route 24 is its companion newsletter that invites you to explore our creative process on the project as we build, deconstructing traffic stop data, policing trends, and their community impact to jumpstart public awareness and, in turn, mobilize narrative change.
Driver’s Ed parks in your inbox on Mondays to shift your gears on key policy debates and test drive people-powered solutions.
Here’s where you come in. Every follow, share, and subscription helps to keep this work going and reach the people the mainstream media often misses.
Start your engines…
In this issue: I’ve written about crash tests before. The statistics are staggering. Though less likely to get into an accident in the first place, women are 73% more likely to suffer serious injuries in a car crash than men. The She DRIVES Act could change that. Here’s how.
It’s Earth Day tomorrow and National Parks Week this week! Swing by Route 24’s climate positive reads to celebrate:
Regulatory Signs
In a recent interview, Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik discussed the importance of crafting a future forward narrative that would appeal to working families, referring to the economic populism and inside-outside politics frequented by Progressive Democrats. A successful campaign formula is as much about the message as it is about the messenger. Similar in approach to community organizing, elected officials whose lived experience seems not too far removed from the middle class are more likely to be viewed as credible messengers. An individual candidate may qualify as progressive on economic policy, but must remain equally capable of centrist decision-making where most beneficial.
Tammy Duckworth’s (D-Ill.) approach to the She Develops Regulations In Vehicle Equality and Safety (She DRIVES) Act is a good example of this. Her statement frames improving road safety not as a partisan issue, but as a practical solution.
We can be doing more to improve our roadways and make sure a trip to visit a family member or a routine trip to the grocery store doesn’t end in tragedy. I’m proud to help introduce this legislation requiring our crash testing standards to better represent all Americans and more accurately reflect the safety needs of everyday drivers as well as require the use of the most advanced testing devices available to help mitigate injuries and save lives.
The facts support her message. A 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report on vehicle safety found that the crash test dummies and safety trials deployed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had historically not been representative of women, elders, or the differently abled.
According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1,300 women die every year who would have otherwise lived if female death and injury rates were comparable to that of males.
Under the NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program, the She DRIVES Act would improve crash test protocols to include a female crash test dummy and specific vehicular testing modules for female riders occupying the front and back seats.
As of May 2024, the bill had been read twice by the Senate and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
FACT: Senator Gaylord Nelson established Earth Day on April 22, 1970, where 20 million people gathered across the U.S. to protect the environment. By 1990, it had become an international advocacy event. Source: Amnesty International and 250 America.
Warning Signs
Respect The Zone So We All Get Home: National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 21-25) is a national campaign from the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation held at the start of the road construction and improvements season to encourage highway work zone safety. Explore ways to raise awareness about work zone safety.
Tell California State Assembly’s Public Safety Committee to Vote NO: AB 284 silences the voices of community violence intervention peacekeepers, cuts key policing data, undermines the effectiveness of the Racial Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) to expose bias, and delays accountability. Contact the California State Assembly’s Public Safety Committee to Vote NO on AB 284.
Guide Signs
For Route 24 riders based in L.A., Safe Roads, Safe Lives L.A. is hosting a community town hall in collaboration with ACLU SoCal to discuss traffic safety and community-first solutions. RSVP to attend.
The policy space is quite the adventure these days, but a reminder that being in community is the best solvency mechanism for divisiveness.
I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend. Thanks for riding with me and I’ll see you back here for the scenic route on Friday.
Stay the course,
Sam
Sam Reetz, is a filmmaker, performer, and founder at Millennial Ethics, creating narrative solutions to complex issues.
Follow her work on Bluesky, Substack and Instagram.
