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

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

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

His death inspired her to create Matthew’s Bridge, an organization seeking to reduce dangers for travelers. Heston also led efforts to create Vision Zero Louisville, a transportation safety initiative calling for zero traffic deaths by 2050. Vision Zero Louisville proposes redesigning roads to encourage appropriate speeds and improve trauma care for accident victims.

On Sunday, on the third annual World Road Traffic Victims’ Day of Remembrance, Heston and other road safety advocates renewed their call for speed cameras in Louisville. It’s an effort supported by the city of Louisville, but one that some state lawmakers have yet to support. They claim the cameras infringe on people’s privacy.

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

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

“We have toll bridges where every time you go over toll roads or take toll roads, cameras take pictures of them,” Heston added. “Why can’t we have cameras that take pictures of speeders, people who deliberately break the law so we can save lives and make our streets safer? This 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 support this proposal and always keep personal responsibility in mind.

“The most important thing we have is our family and our 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 the house in one piece, not in an urn, not in a coffin,” she stressed “So we all have a responsibility, because vehicles are a deadly weapon if used irresponsibly. are literally killing people and are one of the leading causes of death, so be responsible.”

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