BLAMING TRAFFIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS FOR "DRUNK WALKING"

-> StreetsBlog reports the alarming increase in pedestrian deaths should be a wake up call for transportation officials — the status quo approach to traffic safety is failing the most vulnerable people on our streets. Instead we’re getting warmed over versions of the same old victim-blaming messages. This week, the Governors Highway Safety Association issued a press release (http://bit.ly/2oMMykW) telling state DOTs that instead of telling people not to drink and drive, they should tell everyone, including pedestrians and cyclists, not to drink and go anywhere. Being drunk, just like being a sober pedestrian or cyclist, is only a hazard when you’re on streets with motor vehicle traffic traveling at lethal speeds. Victim-blaming messages like this won’t make people safer. http://bit.ly/2oMP378

from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.