From a Family’s Advocacy to Public Policy

The foundation reports investing more than $440,000 in traffic safety education and awareness, more than $330,000 in academic scholarships and more than $150,000 in private music education. Its Driver’s Ed Through Art program has reached more than 10,600 students and produced 45 murals in New Jersey schools. Its Youth Advisory Board has expanded to five schools in five counties.

The foundation’s advocacy has also reached Trenton.

State Sen. John McKeon pointed to New Jersey’s Target Zero Commission, established to eliminate traffic deaths by 2040.

“There’s one piece of legislation that, thanks to the Nikhil Badlani Foundation, came to fruition, and that’s the Target Zero Commission,” McKeon said. “Dedicated experts have been meeting and going forward with policy to meet those goals, and that’s because of this family and this foundation.”

New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Priya Jain said Nikhil’s story continues to inform efforts to reduce deaths and serious injuries.

“Nikhil’s story brings into sharp focus as professionals what we need to do,” Jain said. “There is a simple reality. People will make mistakes. But those mistakes should not cost them their lives.”

Bringing the Work Home to West Orange

The movement has also influenced road-safety efforts closer to home.

West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney said the township previously secured more than $10 million in road-improvement funding and Safe Routes to School grants and continues moving forward with its Vision Zero Action Plan.

McCartney announced progress on federal Supplementary Planning Funds connected to the West Orange Safe Streets for All Project, including approval of professional services for a feasibility study, reporting to the NJDOT, and a kickoff meeting with the agency.

“This event is just a noble effort of the Badlani family, putting their grief into this advocacy that has done so much, from state legislation down to local laws and ordinances that we have put in place for public safety,” McCartney said.

She said the event also provides an opportunity to educate motorists about distracted driving, passing school buses and other unsafe behaviors.

“It’s just an enormous educational outreach to make people aware that their behavior can affect the life of someone else,” McCartney said.

The Next Generation Takes the Pledge

Perhaps the clearest sign of how the movement has evolved could be found among the young people participating.

Members of the foundation’s Youth Advisory Board led the STOP For Nikhil Traffic Safety Pledge, a cornerstone of Nikhil’s Law. Youth leaders Mia Sinha and Leah Barkey spoke about moving beyond simply knowing traffic laws.

“Rather than just understanding the laws, we need to put them into action,” Sinha said. “We need to really work hard to change our roads and make it safer for everyone, all families.”

West Orange High School student TJ Casarez has participated through Troop 6, where Nikhil once served as a Scout. His message to drivers was simple: “Definitely slow down.”

“In my neighborhood, there are a lot of people who go, like, superfast on neighborhood streets when my brother and I are just playing outside,” Casarez said.

Troop 6 Committee Chair Charles Coxe said the connection continues even though none of the troop’s current Scouts knew Nikhil.

“Nikhil Badlani was a beloved Scout in Troop 6, and it has always been important to the Troop that we not only help keep his memory alive, but also help this great effort each year to make a positive impact in his name,” Coxe said.

He hopes the Scouts carry those lessons with them as they become drivers themselves.

“I already know they are learning firsthand the impact that one family can have to make our world a better place, even in the face of unimaginable tragedy,” Coxe said.

That connection also brought the Shiflett family to the event. Sam Shiflett participates through Troop 6, while his sister, Kate, runs cross country at West Orange High School. Parents Elizabeth and Mike Shiflett also ran cross country in high school, making the event a natural opportunity for the family to participate together.

For Elizabeth Shiflett, however, the run also carried a timely traffic-safety lesson. “Kate is 15, so in just a few months, she’ll turn 16, and we’ll be getting her permit,” she said. “I think things like this are a good reminder…how to be aware of pedestrian safety. And as a runner, too, that’s something that matters here.” Shiflett said she hopes her family continues “to be aware of your surroundings” and mindful of both pedestrians and cars.

Road Safety Continues to Evolve

The changing transportation landscape was represented by Waymo, which brought a fully autonomous vehicle to the event for the first time.

Monica Freundlich, a member of Waymo’s public affairs team, said autonomous technology removes behaviors such as distracted, impaired or aggressive driving.

“They don’t get angry when someone cuts them off, they don’t text and drive, they don’t drive impaired,” Freundlich said. “It’s not because humans aren’t enough. It’s because humans are everything, and we want to really preserve human life at the end of the day.”

“As transportation continues to evolve, so must the way we approach safety, from designing safer infrastructure and strengthening our traffic safety laws to embracing new technology and empowering the next generation,” Badlani said.

The foundation also presented its STOP For Nikhil Inspiration Award to Michelle Robinson, who became a road-safety advocate after her father, a Burlington City crossing guard, was killed while protecting children.

Michael Rizol, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, closed the program by returning responsibility to the people who use those roads every day.

“When you’re behind the wheel, put your phone down, buckle up, slow down, make sure you’re not impaired, and share the road with other road users,” Rizol said. “We need everyone to live that message every day.”

Sixteen years after the first STOP For Nikhil, the gathering continues to carry the memory of an 11-year-old West Orange boy. The Scouts raising the flag, teenagers taking the safety pledge and officials working to change streets and laws also show how that memory has moved outward — from one family, to a community, and into an ongoing effort to prevent another family from experiencing the same loss.