Dear Friend,
On February 4, 2009, Kevin Black was bicycling to work at the University of Washington when a driver attempted an illegal U-turn in front of him. Kevin tried to maneuver around the large delivery van but was trapped underneath it and killed. The police cited the driver with a mere traffic ticket, nothing more.
The same morning, we introduced a bill in the State Senate to address cases where sober drivers still make deadly decisions. Sadly, the bill stalled in committee, but we are back a year later and need your help to pass the Vulnerable User Bill, Senate Bill 5838 and make it law.
How do we get drivers to use more care on the road? How do we find justice for Kevin and Michele Black and their two daughters, and thousands of other families in Washington? There are three things you can do to make a difference:
1. Please use our online form to send a message and encourage your senator to support the Vulnerable User Bill.
2. Forward this message to your friends and loved ones. Ask them to join in our efforts for justice.
3. Come to Olympia. Next Tuesday morning, January 26, the bill will have a second hearing to break a 4-4 split in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We need your help to move the bill forward. Please email us if you can come to Olympia and make our voices heard together.
You can join Michele Black and others in signing on the record in favor of the bill, which fills the gap between a simple traffic ticket and more serious offenses. It requires a court appearance and possible community service or license suspension for drivers who kill or gravely injure pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable users of the road. You can read more about the bill here.
We need your support to pass the Vulnerable User Bill - please email your senator today.
Thank you for all you do to make a safer community.
Sincerely,
