DC police assist Street Smart campaign by writing tickets to drivers in hopes of curbing pedestrian fatalities
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Dozens of drivers in the District headed home with tickets on Monday afternoon, as the result of the Street Smart campaign’s partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
MPD officers spent a few hours on Monday writing tickets to drivers along Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE, who failed to stop for a pedestrian.
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Advocates and officers are hopeful the campaign can improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety in the region, at a time when it’s needed.
According to the Street Smart campaign, 115 walkers or bikers were killed in the D.C. area in 2023 — still a high number, though a decrease from an even more dangerous and deadly 2022.
“For some reason, people forget about warnings, but they remember the tickets. They have to pay them,” said Street Smart’s Mike Farrell.
One of the people inspriring the campaign is Arlington. Va.’s Helen Harris. She was injured in a crash in 2018 when she was crossed an Arlington street with her then-four-month-old in the stroller. She considers herself “lucky” because she was able to push the stroller out of the way, keeping the child safe. However, Harris had to have her leg amputated.
“It was a very traumatic event, as oftentimes pedestrian accidents tend to be,” she said.
Harris said she has worked for years on healing, both physically and psychologically. She also has become an advocate for pedestrian safety.
“This is something that happens to many individuals across our community,” she said.
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Harris also shared her advice to drivers.
“Nothing is as important as getting home safely and making sure that you don’t harm others,” she said. “Like you don’t have to be in a rush. You don’t have to check your phone. Pay attention to your surroundings. Pay attention to stoplights, to pedestrians, to cyclists. We all have to inhabit the streets together.”
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