This is important. Please take the time to look at it and respond accordingly. From: Caron Whitaker [mailto:caron@bikeleague.org] Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 10:17 AM To: jeff@porterhamel.com Subject: Ask Congress to Reduce Bicycling Deaths (Copy) <http://cqrcengage.com/lab/file/yhyyHQEWJC7/Action%20alert%20headers%20final 2.jpg> Joy Covey helped catapult Amazon.com from a small company to the global powerhouse it is today. Earlier this year, on a bicycle ride in San Mateo County, Calif., she was struck by a delivery van and killed. She was 50 years old. Joy is one of hundreds of men and women killed while bicycling or walking on our streets each year. This has to change -- and a one-sentence bill in Congress could do it. Please contact your members of Congress today to ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 3494 / S. 1708, which requires the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and state DOTs to account for and work to reduce bicyclist and pedestrian deaths. <http://cqrcengage.com/lab/app/take-action?engagementId=32449&ep=AAAAC2Flc0N pcGhlcjAxoLgxBHI_1i7LDPqB2OessQAdY3XcfCMerLdwfgcUbfZFk-ZRLCkwLRua8am_9ojO60E Y8_pCwuZU8f6MaCmzCA&lp=0> Take Action Here. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that biking and walking fatalities have continued to increase - now representing 16.3 percent of all traffic deaths and a total of 5,469 people killed. Last year, Congress mandated the US DOT to set performance goals, including safety goals. We believe that those goals should include a plan to make biking safer. However, the US DOT has refused to set a safety goal for non-motorized transportation. Congress doesn't agree: Members of the House and Senate, from both sides of the aisle, have introduced identical bills specifically requiring US DOT to set a goal to reduce the deaths of those biking and walking. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act states clearly that the lives of all roadway users are important -- and creates accountability toward ending needless deaths. It gives US DOT the flexibility to determine the best method to meet these safety measures, and calls on our leaders to reduce the number of people biking and walking who are killed or injured on our streets every year. It's time that we all stand together to say that the deaths of bicyclists and pedestrians deserve to be counted and prevented, too. Please help us build the momentum for this important legislation by contacting your members of Congress to ask them to co-sponsor these bipartisan bills. Without it, people who bike and walk, like Joy, will remain in the blindspot of our transportation system. Join this effort, and tell your lawmakers to vote for these straightforward, bi-partisan bills. <http://cqrcengage.com/lab/app/take-action?engagementId=32449&ep=AAAAC2Flc0N pcGhlcjAxa9q-4pSfjQr09Ltvzx4AQGfUSX4BFEntoenyP0m1sptLbgm-HXXYTxobokmLhi4IegT 8DnkMKnFs7kPEUJiLHw&lp=0> Take action. Thank you for your support! <http://cqrcengage.com/lab/app/subscriptions?r=AAAAC2Flc0NpcGhlcjAxWw4ElGPDe Fb08Iw7sQj88_R_GTbWo3AJ1NjZnCTa9Ws> Unsubscribe <http://cqrcengage.com/lab/app/thru?ep=AAAAC2Flc0NpcGhlcjAxiwrvYUm01rPz_XOCK 7_fOTJL4GNEfj1TK2F3_GEObCE8ZQP93DWw6w_ZGISJoTqT4pCoYL25D9qXoem9CJ00hcS1PA4fI CuYfyBuqYY8BVpahnhGThznEohpZZTeDUM8&lp=0> Powered by CQRC Engage <http://cqrcengage.com/lab/opened-mail/AAAAC2Flc0NpcGhlcjAxWw4ElGPDeFb08Iw7s Qj88_R_GTbWo3AJ1NjZnCTa9Ws>