Launch of the Stop & Yield Campaign in Fort Bend County

198 Kempner Street,Sugar Land TX 77498

17 February, 2023

Description

You are warmly invited to join a cocktail reception and launch of the Stop & Yield Campaign in Fort Bend County. Over the last few years, Citizens for Road Safety has advocated for the Lisa Torry Smith Act with the Texas House and Senate. The Lisa Torry Smith Act, signed into law by Governor Abbott in September 2021, makes it a crime to kill or injure a pedestrian or other vulnerable road user in a crosswalk or intersection in Texas. Now, the work begins to move words off paper - and to implement the new law and work to create safer communities across Texas: starting in Fort Bend County. It will take many hands and hearts working together as a community to achieve impact. We know that change is possible because of the compassionate, caring community that is Fort Bend County! Please sign up for a free ticket on Eventbrite to attend. PROGRAM This cocktail reception and meeting will present the Stop & Yield Campaign's plans for activities and efforts in Fort Bend County from March 2023 onward. This includes work on identification and action on pedestrian problem areas and training, including for community groups and schools on pedestrian/road safety and the new pedestrian law, the Lisa Torry Smith Act. Speakers will include Fort Bend County leaders: Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan, Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton and former United States Congressman Pete Olson. BACKGROUND & FACTS According to the 2021 Dangerous by Design report by Smart Growth America (SGA), using data from a national database of all fatal traffic crashes (the Fatality Analysis Reporting system/FARS), the number of people struck and killed by drivers nationwide while walking increased by an astonishing 45 percent from 2010-2019, with 2016-2019 being the deadliest for pedestrians in three decades. Texas ranks among the top 10 states in the United States for pedestrian deaths: with Fort Bend County ranking in the top 20 most dangerous places in the U.S. for pedestrians on the 2021 SGA State Pedestrian Danger Index, compiled using current data on pedestrian fatalities from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Let's change this! LISA TORRY SMITH Lisa Torry Smith was a resident of Missouri City and a beloved mother, sister and friend. Lisa was killed crossing her son to school in a crosswalk on the way to Jan Schiff Elementary School in October, 2017. The driver who killed her never faced any consequences because, prior to the passage of the Lisa Torry Smith Act, it was not a crime to kill or injure a pedestrian or other vulnerable road user in a crosswalk in Texas. It is now. Lisa's legacy now part of Fort Bend County history. Lisa never left a room without lighting it up and making everyone smile. She loved to have fun - so come and join us for some Lisa inspired cocktails on Friday February 17th!