Ever since a speeding motorist killed Tiffanie Stanfield鈥檚 sister while she was in a St. Louis crosswalk in April 2016, Stanfield has been calling for an end to such traffic violence. She even started the organization to raise awareness about hit-and-run driving and provide resources to those affected by the issue.
But , Stanfield has felt deep discouragement lately. She told St. Louis on the Air this week that her message all too often appears to not be getting through.
A recent spike in deaths is the latest stark evidence of the lack of progress: StreetsBlog USA that 10 pedestrians have lost their lives on city streets in just 11 weeks.
鈥淲e know the statistics. We know the numbers. But for me, not only do I know it from a personal perspective, but I speak to these families,鈥� Stanfield told host Sarah Fenske on Friday鈥檚 show. 鈥淚 know their stories 鈥� beyond the story.鈥�
Stanfield hasn鈥檛 given up. A member of the city鈥檚 , she鈥檚 also working on a short film about hit-and-run driving that she hopes will provide a more visceral sense of the epidemic of pedestrian deaths and offer hope for a way forward.
And she鈥檚 not the only St. Louisan continuing to call for change. Xandi Barrett, who earned a master鈥檚 degree in social work from Washington University earlier this year, has a passion for the . And as part of a practicum toward her degree, she recently compiled , aimed at spurring better reporting on pedestrian deaths, on behalf of the mobility committee.
鈥淎 lot of the reporting treats these as isolated incidents, so this toolkit was hoping to really highlight the frequency of the issue, how to change a word choice and really just make it so that people in our community understand that it is an epidemic and not just one-off incidents and accidents,鈥� she said.
Barrett offered an example of how specific words and phrases used in a media report can make a difference.
鈥淪omething as simple as saying, 鈥楢 person driving a pickup truck hit a pedestrian,鈥� instead of, 鈥楢 pickup truck hit a pedestrian鈥� 鈥� it really puts it in a human perspective,鈥� she explained.
Another issue affecting the public鈥檚 understanding of the crisis, Stanfield said, is where these crashes and tragedies most often occur.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e dealing with pedestrian safety in underserved neighborhoods comparable to pedestrian safety in affluent neighborhoods, there is a difference in how it鈥檚 reported, what is reported and the specifics of what鈥檚 being reported,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ometimes if it鈥檚 a little Black girl or little Black boy that is being reported, it鈥檚 just reported as such.鈥� Victims in affluent neighborhoods seem to get a lot more attention.
Last week, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department noted that . The police department pointed to speed as the biggest contributing factor. Department leaders announced a commitment to increased traffic enforcement, with a focus on the city鈥檚 most crash-prone intersections.
Stanfield said she has lingering questions about the enforcement push.
鈥淲ill it continue?鈥� she asked. 鈥淲ill it just kind of be in the moment because we鈥檙e highlighting these hit-and-run fatalities? 鈥� Is it something that鈥檚 gonna happen today and then kind of fade away later?鈥�
The on-air conversation also touched on how victims are frequently blamed for being hit. Media coverage often notes that someone wasn鈥檛 in a crosswalk, when under Missouri law, pedestrians have the right of way on any street with sidewalks on both sides. What we think of as crosswalks are simply marked crosswalks.
鈥淭his is a really personal topic for me. I don鈥檛 have a car, and so I get around by bike and by transit,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淎nd multiple times [I] have been dropped off by a bus at an intersection and there鈥檚 no safe place for me to get across the street. It could be that the next intersection is a half a mile down the road.鈥�
Many listeners joined the discussion and .
鈥淐hallenge car centrism and supremacy when you see and hear it,鈥� wrote a listener named O鈥檇. 鈥淧eople were on the street first, and we belong there. 鈥� It鈥檚 not OK to text and drive. It's unsafe to go as fast as you can.鈥�
O鈥檇 added: 鈥淚f you think Black lives matter, drive like it. 鈥� The best way to become a good motorist is to walk, bike, and bus commutes you often drive. Once you know what it鈥檚 like to be on the outside of the car, your behavior will change without you even thinking about it.鈥�
Producer鈥檚 note: The recommends the following resources related to traffic violence: , , and .
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by and produced by , , and . Jane Mather-Glass is our production assistant. The audio engineer is .
