At a City Hall rally, families and safety groups urged Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council to declare a formal State of Emergency over rising traffic deaths and to fast-track specific actions—including staffing LADOT and activating delayed speed cameras.
Advocates want the mayor and council to declare a traffic violence State of Emergency to mobilize resources and accelerate street-safety work.
SAFE reported 2025 traffic fatalities were 56% higher than in 2015, and deaths rose another 8% through August 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
SAFE’s letter asks the city to staff the Transportation Department, fast-track planned road safety improvements, and implement a delayed speed camera program that could also fund safety projects.
# What happened
Families of people killed or injured on Los Angeles streets, led by Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) and Families for Safe Streets, rallied in front of City Hall to demand that Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council declare a formal State of Emergency on traffic violence. Speakers included grieving parents and SAFE's executive director, who said the city already knows where dangerous streets are and has delayed safety measures that could save lives.
# The data advocates cited
SAFE provided two headline figures: traffic fatalities in 2025 were 56% higher than in 2015, the year L.A. adopted Vision Zero policies to eliminate traffic deaths. Crash deaths were up another 8% through the end of August 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Advocates use these increases to argue the problem has worsened and requires emergency-level attention.
# What SAFE is asking for
SAFE submitted a letter to the mayor and city council proposing a traffic violence State of Emergency and outlining near-term actions:
Sandra Loulakis spoke about losing her son to a driver making an illegal U-turn. She described daily struggle and asked the mayor and council for help so other parents won't face the same loss. Damian Kevitt, SAFE's executive director and a crash survivor, said the city is "just not making this a priority" and called for immediate deployment of known safety measures.
# Why the speed camera point matters
Advocates emphasized the delayed speed camera program as a near-term tool. They argued cameras would reduce speeding and produce fees that could be directed to safety projects. SAFE framed activation of this program as both life-saving and supportive of implementation capacity.
# Next administrative steps and politics to watch
# Practical takeaway for readers
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