LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Families of crash victims and road safety advocates gathered Sunday to remember those who lost their lives in road crashes.

Janet Heston lost her son in November 2020 when he was hit by a car near Iroquois Park.

“This matter means the world to me because it doesn’t get more personal than when your child dies,” Heston said. “Before this happened, I didn’t know this was a huge problem.”

His death inspired her to create Matthew’s Bridge, an organization that seeks to reduce the dangers to travelers. Heston also led efforts to create Vision Zero Louisville, a transportation safety initiative that calls for zero roadway fatalities by 2050. Vision Zero Louisville proposes redesigning roadways to encourage appropriate speeds and improve trauma-related care for victims the accident.

During the third annual World Road Traffic Day on Sunday, Heston and other road safety advocates renewed their call for automatic speed cameras in Louisville. It’s an effort the city of Louisville supports, but some state lawmakers haven’t yet. They say the cameras invade people’s privacy.

“It’s not partisan at all,” Heston said. “It’s a public health issue. That’s the responsibility of our legislators to do it, to pass it.”

Studies show that higher speeds result in greater impact at the time of a crash, which could lead to more serious injuries and deaths. According to the Federal Highway Administration, speed cameras can reduce road fatalities by 20 to 37 percent.

“We have toll bridges where every time you go over toll roads or on toll roads, there are cameras that take pictures,” Heston added. “Why can’t we have cameras that take pictures of speeders, people who break the law on purpose, so we can save lives and make our streets safer? It is totally illogical; it doesn’t make sense.”

And as the General Assembly prepares to begin its session in January, Heston is asking Louisvillians to get behind this proposal and always hold personal responsibility.

“The most important thing we have is our family and loved ones and every time you get in a vehicle, every time you walk out the door, you want to come home, you want your loved ones to come home from a piece, not in an urn, not in a coffin,” she emphasized. “So we all have a responsibility because vehicles are a deadly weapon if used irresponsibly. They kill people and are a leading cause of death, so please be responsible.”

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