OLYMPIA, Wash.-The 5,624 people who have lost their lives on Washington State roadways due to traffic-related crashes over the past decade will be remembered on Sunday, Nov. 19 as part of World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims.
According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, each person killed in a traffic-related crash, in cars, as a pedestrian or on a bike, leaves behind people who loved them and impacts the entire state.
“The Washington Traffic Safety Commission works every day to prevent these tragedies, said Shelly Baldwin, Washington Traffic Safety Commission Director. “We do this by increasing our understanding of the underlying causes so that we can act before it’s too late.”
Speed is a contributing factor in most deadly collisions according to the WTSC, with 51 percent of respondents to a statewide traffic survey reporting that it is moderately to extremely dangerous to drive on public roads in Washington.
“We can honor those we have lost by actively choosing to buckle up, slow down, drive sober, and be focused on actually driving,” said Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste.