A New Approach to Traffic Safety With Motor-Vehicle Fatalities at Unacceptable Rates, Verra Mobility Launches ‘Zero In on Safety’ to Promote Better Driving Behaviors
New York, NY
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February 16, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
Verra Mobility, a leading provider of intelligent mobility technology solutions, recently announced a call to action for drivers to commit to reducing dangerous driving behaviors to tackle the soaring traffic fatality crisis in the U.S.
As part of the initiative, Jon Baldwin, the Executive Vice President of Government Solutions at Verra Mobility and Damian Kevitt, the Executive Director of Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), participated in a nationwide satellite media tour to discuss the crisis on our roads, completing over 35 media interviews over the course of five hours. Here’s what they had to say:
A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/DRmQRr5a8UE
Traffic fatalities in the United States steadily dropped for decades but climbed during the pandemic's early days, eventually reaching a 16-year high in 2021. The most recent projections from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicate that this deadly trend may have started to level off in 2022. With the first nine months of last year's data suggesting that overall fatalities declined, cyclist and pedestrian fatalities have continued to rise. That means we have more work to do to save lives.
For Damian, the issue hits particularly close to home. His life was changed in February of 2013 when he was hit by a car in Los Angeles while bicycling. Lucky to survive, and after losing his right leg, Damian resolved to use his personal tragedy as a way to make streets safer for everyone, with his organization SAFE advocating for actions that will help reduce traffic fatalities to zero. SAFE looks to address the crisis in a holistic fashion through direct education, broad awareness campaigns, partnerships, community outreach, policy and legislation, support for those impacted, and other proven strategies.
Verra Mobility will increase its support with new actions including technology, tools, public service materials, and awareness programs along with financial commitments for continued partnerships with organizations like SAFE, the National Coalition for Safer Roads, and Families for Safe Streets, and Transportation Alternatives.
The voluntary Zero In pledge asks participants to commit to better driving behaviors like slowing down, watching for pedestrians, looking carefully at busy intersections, and stopping for school buses. This pledge is a way to promote safety and remind us that changing our behavior can lead to safer speeds, safer roads, and safer communities.
For more information, visit verramobility.com/zero-in-pledge
About Jon Baldwin
Jon Baldwin is the EVP of Government Solutions. Prior to joining Verra Mobility, Jon served as President of Fortive’s Gems, Sensors and Controls business, a global supplier of industrial sensors and control components. He also served as the General Manager for Texas Instruments’ Precision Signal Path business unit. Jon also held leadership roles in marketing, business development and strategy for National Semiconductor Corporation, Samplify Systems, Inc. and Analog Devices, Inc. He began his career at Raytheon Technologies as a systems engineer.
About Damian Kevitt
Damian Kevitt was raised in Los Angeles, CA, and prefers, whenever he can, to get around on his bicycle. He was schooled in the sciences – studying marine biology at UCSB and microbiology at U of A. Damian later became a professional counselor at his church, where he’s worked for well over 25 years counseling and helping both staff and parishioners. His life took a sudden turn in Feb 2013 when he was hit by a car that never stopped while bicycling in Griffith Park. Barely surviving and losing his right leg, Damian got back on his bicycle and started his quest to not only “finish the ride” he was on but also use what happened to him to make the streets safer for all. Currently, Damian leads SAFE’s programs to improve street safety and works at his church with various non-profits to help make Southern California a better place.
About Verra Mobility
Verra Mobility Corporation is a leading provider of smart mobility technology solutions that make transportation safer, smarter and more connected. The company sits at the center of the mobility ecosystem, bringing together vehicles, hardware, software, data and people to enable safe, efficient solutions for customers globally. Verra Mobility’s transportation safety systems and parking management solutions protect lives, improve urban and motorway mobility and support healthier communities. The company also solves complex payment, utilization and compliance challenges for fleet owners and rental car companies. Headquartered in Arizona, Verra Mobility operates in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information, please visit www.verramobility.com.
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