by Aly Geller
Why adding your story to the map matters
In early July, three Families for Safe Streets members and I sat in the waiting room of a lawmaker’s office in Sacramento, CA. The lawmaker, critical to an upcoming vote on legislation to slow speeds in California, was undecided.
The legislator’s aide agreed to talk with us and put a few chairs in a circle.
Lori Markowitz spoke first, describing her 27-year-old son Josh, a rising musician, killed by a driver exceeding 100 MPH on a Los Angeles street. Joe Martinez remembered his 21-year-old Paul Martinez, a Boys and Girls Club volunteer and church goer killed while trying to cross a Fresno street, by a speeding driver. And Laura Keenan held a poster of her 42-year old Matt as he strummed the guitar and sang to their 15-month-old son Evan. Matt was killed when a driver veered into his unprotected bike lane. “He didn’t stand a chance,” said Laura.
The aide, clearly emotional, listened intently.
This lawmaker, at the time undecided, later committed her vote, helping to move the bill out of the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee.
Over 40,000 people are killed in crashes in the US each year, and approximately 5,000,000 are severely injured. The statistics are staggering but numbers alone don’t reflect the depth and repercussions of these events. In fact, without stories to put the data into context, the statistics may fall flat or be quickly forgotten.
The Families for Safe Streets Community Story Map is…
A memorial to the millions killed in crashes, a place for loved ones to remember and honor the people they were, the lives they live, and the futures stolen from them.
A virtual public square to gather our community, hold collective pain, and honor those injured and killed in traffic violence.
A call to action demanding attention. Each dot on the Map opens the story of a loved one lost or severely injured in a crash. Each dot tells the real story of traffic violence: a husband and new Dad killed while out on a morning jog, by a driver exceeding 75 mph. A grandmother who loved her job and cooked every dinner for her family, now, living with severe brain damage requiring round the clock care after being struck by a speeding left-turning driver; a 5-year-old killed in the crosswalk, as she and her parents headed to art class.
Storytelling gives a familiar face to abstract data, awakens our imagination, and builds the empathy and connection necessary to engage people who have never been affected by traffic violence and inspire them to act.
One story can open a lawmaker’s eyes and change or solidify their view. Thousands of stories paint a clear and devastating picture of the fallout from traffic violence in this country. At this scale, the map provides an unprecedented opportunity to reflect the epidemic of traffic violence.
Raymond Oliveras, a recently graduated civil engineer, and Maria Rivas Cruz, a 3rd grade teacher, were high school sweethearts of 11 years, engaged to be married. The couple was struck by a speeding driver fleeing a street takeover, right in front of their recently purchased home. Raymond passed away that night. And Maria has been left without a career, her full health and her love, Raymond (Story map entry: Mary Rivas Cruz).
The FSS map was inspired by the National Safety Council’s Opioid Map, created by Jeremiah Lindemann, whose younger brother JT died from an overdose in 2007. As a digital mapmaker who has also created the Covid 19- Stories of Loss and Survival map, Jeremiah wanted to find a way to channel his grief and memorialize JT, who he considered his best friend.
The Opioid map became that and more. As a meeting place, the map helped to connect people, enabling them to share ideas, support each other, and advocate together. With thousands of entries, it has attracted extensive media attention from across the country, spread awareness, raised funds, and launched life-saving policy initiatives.
What is it about stories that moves us?
In an age crowded with information, numbers, data, and soundbites, the way we present information is crucial if we want anyone to hear us. It turns out that nothing is more effective than a story from the heart.
National Institutes of Health researcher Paul Zak describes becoming emotionally bereft as he watched the Clint Eastwood drama, Million Dollar Baby during a cross-country flight. The experience left him wondering why he’d been so undone. His research eventually revealed that a good narrative has the power to affect our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in a unique and powerful way.
Through extensive research in different species and across the globe, Zak discovered Oxytocin – a neurochemical released in the brain when we sense that another person is familiar and trustworthy or in Zak’s own words, “safe.” As it helps build familiarity and trust, this “astonishingly interesting molecule,” also makes the listener more open to learning – a key benefit when trying to sway reluctant or disinterested audiences.
Melissa Balmer, founder of the organization PedalLove.org teaches storytelling to help create active, safe, shared streets for a sustainable world. As she helps people to connect their lived experiences with audiences, she explains that story sharing triggers a process called neural coupling, where the experiences of the teller and the listener become synchronized. The listener turns the story into their own experience. A process called mirroring shows that when listening to, reading or watching a story, we express similar brain activity to others engaged with the same story. Empathy – the experience of walking in another’s shoes – is what ultimately moves the needle in a way no statistic can.
The kids were in the pool, while older cousins had a water balloon toss … On the walk home, on Roosevelt Blvd at 2nd Street, Saadeem, his mom, baby brother, 7-month-old, Saamir, and his 2nd youngest brother, 2-year-old Saasean, were hit and killed by two drivers speeding and drag racing on Roosevelt Blvd (Story Map Entry: Latanya Byrd, Saadeem’s aunt, Philadelphia Families for Safe Streets founder, and vocal road safety advocate, who led a successful effort to redesign Philadelphia’s most deadly roadway after four members of her family were killed).
How to include your story on the Community Story Map and Quick Tips
The Story Map is designed to be accessible and user friendly. The Families for Safe Streets support team provides weekly story map writing and guidance gatherings, Friday afternoons at 4 pm ET and 1 pm PT (register here), we are glad to connect anytime.
The story itself is limited to 1,000 characters, or about 250 words, so that those looking at the map can read many stories and begin to grasp the toll of this preventable epidemic.
While there is never enough room to adequately share one’s story, even a quick glimpse into their personality can help to humanize this epidemic. These prompts may help:
- What did you love most about the person you lost?
- What did your relationship with them mean to you?
- Describe a vivid memory
- What did your loved one teach you?
- Describe their personality
If you are writing about your own crash:
- How did your injury change you?
- How does it feel to walk/bike/ride in a car now?
- What is most challenging now?
We hope you will share your story, and encourage others to do the same. Access the map through the Families for Safe Streets website, and use the form to add your story.