(ThyBlackMan.com) I made this demand three weeks before the murderous crash that wiped out the lives of multiple persons, including, most heartbreaking a pregnant mother and her one-year-old child. That the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, the CHP, the L.A. County Sheriffs, and the L.A. County Department of Public Works do whatever it took to curtail the colossal pedestrian and vehicle hazards at the intersection of Slauson and La Brea.
I live one block from that corner. I can’t tell you how many times I have witnessed mob takeovers of the corner, nighttime donuts, wheelie contests, crashes, near crashes, routine traffic light running, and reckless speeding up and down the LaBrea hill. I called for -increased monitoring, surveillance, roving traffic control teams, stop light changing additions and reconfigurations, and spaced speed cones. Nothing.
It’s brutally painful to say this but the colossal hazards posed at that intersection and others similar in L.A. were a monumental tragedy waiting to happen. As we now know, on Thursday, August 4, that tragedy happened. As always it provoked the usual recriminations, hand wringing, and second-guessing. The hard and undeniable fact is that if deterrent action had been taken when I and other community residents demanded it, on August 4th the people that were killed might still be alive today. At the very least, the measure would have increased the odds of their survival and served as a model for reducing hazards at other potential danger spots throughout L.A.
The August 4th carnage, though, is hardly an isolated occurrence in Black and Latino communities. The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crunched hard numbers on vehicle fatalities over the past two decades. The numbers repeatedly show one thing. Blacks and Latinos are at far greater risk from accidents, many fatal, than whites. It’s getting worse. The Agency found that in 2020, Blacks had the greatest increase in traffic fatalities than any other group.
The numbers soared even though Blacks as other drivers drove much less than in prior years due to the COVID pandemic. Here are the grim numbers. Nearly 40,000 persons died in traffic accidents in 2020. This was a major jump from ten years earlier. Blacks made up a disproportionate number of those traffic fatalities.
The death toll was up by twenty-three percent. Not only were the numbers constantly high for Black fatalities in vehicle accidents, but they were also consistently high for Black pedestrians. Blacks were more likely to be struck while on foot than other pedestrians. The reason more Blacks were more likely than whites to rely on their feet to get them from point A to B than whites was due to lack of a motor vehicle.
Whether Blacks suffer a vehicle-related accident or fatality by walking or driving, the reasons why are clear. Black communities, particularly poorer Black communities, are less likely to have crosswalks, warning signs, and other safety mechanisms. Then there’s the road design in heavily traveled streets in urban communities. They are more likely to be high-speed, often resembling freeways.
The LaBrea to Slauson street is a near textbook example of this. It has only one stop light at the bottom of a steep three-lane street. This virtually invites drivers to barrel down LaBrea at blinding speed during daylight and evening hours. It has also invited mob takeovers on this frequently traveled, wide, and open street. This has sent the dire hazard signal that the street is virtually an urban Riverside 500 for speeders and reckless drivers.
There is also much evidence that drivers are less likely to exercise safety precautions when other drivers and pedestrians are Black. One study confirmed that drivers are far less likely to slow down and yield the right of way when other drivers and pedestrians are Black than when the pedestrians or drivers are white.
One another added element to the grim picture. Researchers from Boston University and Harvard University analyzed 2017 national traffic fatality and household travel data by race found systemic underinvestment in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, like bike lanes, in communities of color, disparities in emergency response, quality of care and outcomes, and access to medical insurance are just some explanations researchers outlined that could be causing racial disparities in traffic fatalities.
The day after the LaBrea disaster, I and other community residents again called on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to declare an auto violence state of emergency crackdown in L.A. County. We called for empowering a special law enforcement and citizens task force to monitor and enforce traffic laws at hot spots such as the site where the deadly accident occurred. This would include increased citations, arrests, camera installation, and surveillance.
The La Brea crash was personal for another reason. I pointed out that the worst crash in recent L.A. County history occurred one block from my house and I witnessed it. This increased the urgency in cracking down on mounting traffic mayhem in L.A. County. This recklessness puts the lives of thousands at mortal risk.
My call for action still stands. Action now may, just may, prevent yet another driving death while Black on LaBrea or any other street. Again, the call for action is now.
Written By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
One can find more info about Mr. Hutchinson over at the following site; TheHutchinson Report.
Also feel free to connect with him through twitter; http://twitter.com/earlhutchins
He is also an associate editor of New America Media. His forthcoming book is From King to Obama: Witness to a Turbulent History (Middle Passage Press).