Lockman: Cut traffic deaths on Delaware roads below 100 by 2025
Joined by Senator Hansen, Representative Osienski and a dozen of her colleagues, State Senator Elizabeth Lockman recently introduced legislation calling for Delaware to reduce annual traffic fatalities below 100 by 2025.
“Traffic deaths have remained roughly constant in Delaware over the last 20 years, averaging over 120 fatalities each year,” Senator Lockman noted. “As Chair of the Delaware Senate Transportation Committee, I was proud to introduce legislation that encourages state agencies to hold themselves accountable for getting that number down to 100 by 2025. That’s the first step we need to take towards creating a transportation system where everyone – drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists – gets home.”
As Delaware’s only serving legislator with long personal experience of being a transportation cyclist and regular transit user (only getting her first driver’s license in 2018 and buying her first car in 2019), Senator Lockman’s personal history makes her leadership on traffic safety all the more compelling.
Traffic fatalities have not only remained stubbornly high in Delaware for the last two decades but last year even reached a 15 year high. 139 people died in crashes in 2021 on Delaware’s roads and streets, making it the deadliest year in the state going all the way back to 2006. And, so far, 2022 is shaping up to be even deadlier.
Meeting the 2025 goal of Senator Lockman’s bill is going to itself require significant changes in infrastructure and operations and won’t be easy. To move past that goal may be even harder. Delaware will need lots of new ideas and more people working on this challenge. Bike Delaware is doing its part by organizing Delaware’s (first-ever) Everyone Gets Home Summit on May 3rd in Dover. Thanks to the generous support of its sponsors, this conference (including lunch) is completely free for all Delaware residents and anyone working or studying here. This is an all-day and in-person conference. The event will be held outside (under a tent) and – while proof of vaccination will not be required to attend – we ask that you not attend if you have any flu-like symptoms or have tested positive for COVID in any of the 10 days before the event.
If you registered for the summit but have not received a confirmation email, check your unread emails for an email from summit@bikede.org. If you still don’t see a confirmation email, please email summit@bikede.org directly.
Check-in is from 8:00AM to 8:45AM. The conference program starts promptly at 8:45AM.
*** VIEW SUMMIT PROGRAM ***
