Written by On June 10th, 2024, KXAN Austin aired the first part of an investigative series by reporter Arezow Doost—looking at the implementation of the Lisa Torry Smith Act, the new Texas crosswalk law that took effect in September 2021.
Arezow Doost interviewed Gina Torry, founder of Citizens for Road Safety Texas, and the sister of Lisa Torry Smith. The report notes Torry spoke at a Texas Department of Transportation Commission meeting about the need for a grant to raise awareness. Torry said:
This would provide staffing on the ground, based in Fort Bend County, to develop training materials on the new Texas crosswalk law, and to go out and give those trainings not just to Fort Bend County, but across Texas, to law enforcement, to community groups, to lawyers, so that we are helping to raise awareness of this new law, how it gets implemented and how drivers can follow it.
The KXAN report notes:
The organization applied for funding previously twice but was denied. Torry is hoping they can team up with TxDOT this year. A spokesperson with the agency said educating the public on safety issues throughout the state is extremely important and TxDOT is working with the organization to understand its funding needs.
Statewide impact
Torry explained that Citizens for Road Safety is hearing from families across Texas who have been harmed or lost a loved one, and who need guidance about the law.
“The sad fact is that this crosswalk law is not well known yet,” added Torry. “There hasn’t been enough legal precedent. And so we are trying to assist people who come to us to connect the dots.”