Community Corner
Traffic Safety Kits Given To Fremont Homeless Community
Fremont is distributing 100 traffic safety kits to its homeless community in an effort to make them more visible while walking and biking.
FREMONT, CA — Fremont is distributing 100 traffic safety kits to its homeless community in an effort to make them more visible while walking and biking at night, according to the police department.
Each kit consists of a reflective safety vest, flashlight, bicycle reflectors and a reflective backpack.
The city is addressing a nationwide spike in traffic fatalities on a local level, expanding upon existing "Vision Zero" traffic safety efforts and protecting residents' safety.
In October, the U.S. Department of Transportation released its estimate for traffic fatalities throughout the country between January and June of this year, reporting the largest six-month increase since 2006 in the projected number of traffic deaths nationwide — 20,160 traffic fatalities.
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A Fremont police spokesperson said the city experienced nine traffic fatalities this year so far, exceeding it annual average of fatal crashes between 2018 and 2020 -- 78 percent of which involved either reckless driving (four incidents) or homeless individuals walking in roadways at night (three incidents).
Fremont's traffic safety efforts is made possible by a partnership between the city's Public Works Transportation Division and the Human Services Department.
For more information about Fremont's "Vision Zero" program, visit https://fremont.gov/visionzero.
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