World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2022

November 20 is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. This is a global event to remember the people killed or injured in traffic, to pay tribute to emergency responders, and to advocate for ending traffic violence.

Find out more on the official website.

People are holding World Day of Remembrance events around the United States and worldwide. Their site has a list of events here. Even if you aren’t able to participate in one, then this is also an opportunity to simply help spread the word, for example, on social media (hashtag #WDoR2022).

Traffic violence was once a much more controversial topic here in the US. We even used build monuments to collectively commemorate its victims. But, in recent decades, political and corporate interests have been largely successful at normalizing it. With traffic deaths getting worse year after year, we need every opportunity we can get to reverse this trend.

This blog has often written about the victims of road traffic violence. You can read a few of my articles from the past year:

• The search for justice continues for Obianuju Osuegbu, the 17-year-old bicycle rider killed in 2020
• Our transportation system is a disaster to human life, and no one cares
• Dangerous by Design 2022: traffic deaths are getting worse, especially in the Sun Belt
• The “most dangerous road for cyclists in America” gets profiled in Bicycling Magazine

On this year’s World Day of Remembrance, we can hope that we will move closer to ending traffic violence worldwide.