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What Is World Day Of Remembrance?

Candle for WDoR

World Day of Remembrance honors those whose lives were lost due to traffic violence

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) is a global event to:

  • remember the many millions who have been killed or seriously injured on the world’s roads, and
  • acknowledge the suffering of the millions of victims, families, and communities added each year: a truly tremendous cumulative toll.

WDR also pays tribute to the dedicated emergency crews, police, and medical professionals. They deal daily with the traumatic aftermath of road crashes.

WDR is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year. This year it is on November 19.

Traffic victims in Charlotte

According to a January 2023 Queen City Nerve article, 61 people died on Charlotte streets in 2022. This number excludes deaths on highways I-77 and I-85 which are monitored by the state. Of these deaths, 20 were pedestrians. That’s almost one-third of the vehicle-related fatalities in the city.

Sadly, this is actually an improvement on past years. Charlotte had 74 vehicle-related fatalities in 2017 and 81 in 2020. In response to the rising death toll, the Charlotte City Council adopted a Vision Zero policy in 2019. Vision Zero’s goal is to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2030. That means zero vehicle-related deaths in 2030.

Clearly, a lot goes into planning for a goal like Vision Zero. Critical to this effort are safe multimodal streets. Safe multimodal streets have consistent sidewalks, updated crosswalks, a seamless bike lane network, and, of course, lower speeds. Without connected, well-maintained transit, cycling and walking infrastructure, we will continue adding victim’s names to the World Day of Remembrance list.

What you can do 

Do you want to help reduce traffic fatalities in Charlotte? Join the Charlotte Regional Transportation Coalition! CRTC is a diverse group of individuals and organizations.  We want to expand transportation choices in our region.

CRTC’s biweekly emails and quarterly workshops provide education and advocacy opportunities and a convening space for people who want to tackle specific local transportation-related projects. Check out the website or email CRTCmembers@gmail.com to learn more.

CRTC is convened by and funded through Sustain Charlotte. Sustain Charlotte advocates for safer streets and has served on the City of Charlotte’s Vision Zero Task Force since its inception. You can support Sustain Charlotte and CRTC by becoming a member today!

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