Vigil Planned To Honor Victims of Austin Traffic Fatalities

Austin has experienced a record-breaking number of traffic fatalities, the most in nearly 30 years.

On Wednesday, Vision Zero ATX, a group dedicated to making Austin streets safer, will hold a vigil at City Hall to honor and remember the victims of traffic fatalities this year.

So far, there have been 82 traffic fatalities in Austin this year. That’s the most number of fatalities since 1986, when there were 81 deaths for the entire year, according to the Austin Police Department.

“We are holding this vigil to recognize the tragic importance of breaking the record of having more traffic deaths than any previous year. Through honoring those lost, we hope to gear the Austin community toward discussing traffic safety and making smarter decisions when traveling,” Vision Zero co-founder Nic Moe told Patch.

Vision Zero ATX was created to advocate for “improvements in community and road design, in community education to promote a cultural shift towards safer options and choices, and smart tools for law enforcement to use when people do make dangerous choices,” Moe said.

“Currently the City of Austin has a Task Force looking at all these issues, and we expect them to provide an Action Plan to City Council this winter. Ultimately, traffic safety is determined by the options people have and the choices they make. Mistakes will happen, but we believe no mistake in traffic is worth someone’s life,” he said.

The vigil will be held on the south plaza of City Hall at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Moe said he’s not sure why Austin’s roads and highways have become more deadly this year.

“We don’t know why traffic has become so much more dangerous in Austin this year. There is some normal variability in the numbers of people injured and killed in traffic between years, but this year is truly an unfortunate anomaly. Given that we don’t know the causes, we hope to move quickly toward Austin adopting smart policies and habits which will make safety more likely when traveling,” he said.

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