Opinion | How to solve St. Louis' reckless driving crisis
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By Rachel Witt – executive director, South Grand Community Improvement District
Sep 15, 2022
It is becoming more common today to use a green light as a four way stop. No one moves when they receive a green light fearing someone will run the red and hit them. Pedestrians are making eye contact with the driver before they step out to cross a street. There is more fear today walking, cycling and driving due to reckless drivers.
What can be done for everyone to feel safe in a main street?
Coordination with local law enforcement, legislation to hold drivers accountable and programs are essential elements to make our roads safer and protect our main streets. Legislation and programs are the key to success for safer and calmer streets for small businesses’ customers and employees. The creation of complete streets with road diets, lower speed limits and curb extensions are just one factor to create a safer and walkable main street. Coordination with local law enforcement and programs are also the key to success.
Today, too many drivers lack car insurance and a driver’s license, and drive with expired temporary tags. The reckless driving with no consequences needs to end.
Complete streets are one variable for safer streets. Unfortunately, you can design and implement complete street models, but all the funds invested are for nothing if the damage to the streetscape outweighs the intention to create a more walkable, bikeable and more pedestrian street.
For the past 10 years along South Grand Boulevard, we have incurred more than $70,000 in damages from reckless drivers, within six blocks. In 90% of the accidents, the driver did not have car insurance nor a valid driver’s license. Legislation needs to be enacted to get these vehicles off the street until the driver can provide a valid driver’s license and proof of car insurance.
People do not feel safe with the worsening trend of increased reckless driving since the start of the Covid pandemic. Main streets like South Grand are more vulnerable to this dangerous trend where people live, work and play. The domino effect of reckless drivers can impact the livelihood of small businesses. For instance, potential new businesses to a main street are looking not just at the traffic volume, wealth and large employers nearby, but they are looking at vehicular crashes.
What can we be done in the United States besides creating costly fines for reckless driving or penalize those without a valid driver’s license or car insurance?
To start, programs should be created to help those who do not have the funds to purchase car insurance. Nonprofits can provide grants for the first year to help those in poverty. Their vehicle is to assist with getting to their employer. Instead of taking their means of income away from them, provide financial assistance, which in the end benefits everyone.
Increasingly, we have built a region where people have to own cars to reach jobs. We should be focusing on redeveloping areas where transit is frequent, which is a bus or train every 15 minutes or better like Grand Boulevard.
Also, in every state it should be a requirement to have driver’s education. In the state of Missouri, it is not required. Also, every state should have campaigns about safe driving with billboards and PSAs.
To move forward, we all need to be held accountable. By allowing lawlessness, we are part of the problem. How will communities remain or become a destination for those to live, work or play if the vehicular crashes outweigh growth of our main streets? The coordination with local law enforcement, legislation to hold drivers accountable and programs are the key to make our roads safer to protect our main streets.
