Safety Countermeasures is a periodic update of the program activities of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Safety Countermeasures Division
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International
Walk to School Day Hits the Streets On October 4, 2000
On Wednesday, October 4, 2000, National Walk Our Children to School Day joins countries from around the world to celebrate the first ever International Walk to School Day ("iwalk" for short.) Realizing the advantages of working together, and thanks to successful events held in Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States, these countries have joined forces to create a global event that will promote the importance of walking our children to school. The ultimate goal is to create a more walkable world community by community.
Last year in the United States, more than 850 schools in 34 states planned events that attracted over 300,000 walkers. In Canada, 525 schools and more than 100,000 people walked. In the United Kingdom, 2 million children and their families representing 10,000 primary schools walked to school in May 1999. In Dublin, Ireland, more than 10,000 kids walked to school during a week in September 1999.
Walk-to-school events throughout the world are creating powerful partnerships for change. The idea is for children, parents and community leaders to walk to school with a purpose - to promote safety health, physical activity and concern for the environment. During last year's events, some people walked to promote physical fitness. Others walked to reduce traffic congestion, pollution and speeds in neighborhoods and near schools. Some walked to focus on teaching children safe walking skills. Others walked to find out how walkable their community was and to identify safe routes to school. The reasons for walking were as varied as the communities themselves.
Information about this event can be found on the Internet at: www.iwalktoschool.org For those coordinating events in the United States, on-line registration is available at www.walktoschool-usa.org The Walking with a Mission guide, available from NHTSA (202/366-1739) and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (877/925-5245) summarizes the 1999 event in the United States, and includes information about walk-to-school events from around the world. The guide is designed to motivate and inspire others to find their own reasons for walking.
National Walk Our Children to School Day is sponsored by the Partnership for a Walkable America, an alliance committed to improving safety and access for pedestrians, and promoting the health benefits of walking.
Pedestrian
Safety Road Show Best Practices Report Almost Complete
In September, 1998, NHTSA contracted with the Bicycle Federation of America (BFA), now the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, to revisit the sites of the ten Pedestrian Safety Road Shows (Stoughton, WI; Gallup, NM; San Jose, CA; Anchorage, AK; Creve Couer, MO; Atlanta, GA; Lewes, DE; Brunswick, ME; Snowmass, CO; and Queens, NY) previously sponsored by the agency in 1996-97. BFA examined the results, determined the status of the site's pedestrian safety program, and is in the process of developing a final summary report.
Visits and meetings with key local contacts were conducted between March 1999 and April 2000. The BFA discovered that, in addition to the ten Road Shows that were sponsored by NHTSA and evaluated as part of this project, there has been considerable activity related to the Road Shows. In fact, as many as 150-200 Road Shows, and more than 10 "Train-the-Trainer" (T3) sessions have been conducted in the past three years.
As part of this evaluation, the BFA and the Road Show facilitators and T3 trainers engaged in extensive discussions about how the programs worked and what could be done to improve the outcomes. One thing they all agreed on - because of each community's unique pedestrian safety environment, there is no such thing as a "typical" Road Show.
The Pedestrian Road Show follow-up suggests that in almost every community that hosted one of the NHTSA-sponsored Road Show events, there continues to be some pedestrian safety/walkable community related activity. It seems that wherever the community was at the time the Road Show took place, the event itself encouraged the participants to take the next step. In fact, one of the most important findings of this evaluation project is that people are interested in walking, and are eager and willing to do something to make it safer and easier. Furthermore, the evaluation also proves that bringing a diverse group of people from one community together for just the four hours that it takes to hold a Road Show, can inspire them to create a positive change within their pedestrian environment. Copies of the Pedestrian Safety Road Show - Best Practices report should be available in late 2000. Call the Safety Countermeasures Division at (202) 366-1739 for more information.
Pedestrian
Safety Program for Hispanic Populations
NHTSA has undertaken an effort to address the needs of the Hispanic population by developing a three-part Spanish language pedestrian safety program, titled Caminando a Través de los Años (Walking through the Years). The first and second components of this program are available. The Caminando a Través de los Años - Seguridad Para Peatones De Tercera Edad (65+), addressing older pedestrians, includes a report, slide program and presenter's guide, brochure, and dramatic and intriguing video telenovela.
The second component of this program, Caminando a Través de los Años (Walking through the Years), addresses common childhood pedestrian risks. The materials include a Spanish language telenovela titled "Amigos para Siempre" (Friends Forever), a bilingual brochure, educator's guide, and order form that are targeted to parents, grandparents and other adult care givers. These items can also be used by health providers and educators, including ESL (English as a Second Language) instructors. To order either of these program components, contact the Office of Communications and Outreach (NTS-21), Fax (202) 493-2062.
The last program component that deals with the impaired pedestrian problem as it relates to Hispanic populations, is under development. Focus groups have been conducted to better understand the actions that various intermediary groups are willing to take to reduce impaired pedestrian incidents. After the focus group results are analyzed, program development will begin.
Pedestrian
Safety "Toolkit" Completed
The Pedestrian Safety Toolkit is designed to be a resource for local pedestrian safety coordinators and advocates. After a lengthy development process, the Pedestrian Safety Toolkit is now available. The Toolkit provides states and communities with a variety of resources that they can use to develop community-wide pedestrian safety initiatives. The resources include NHTSA and FHWA brochures, reports, training information; a user's guide; resource manual; video compilation tape of popular pedestrian safety videos; and an interactive CD-ROM. In addition, the User's Manual and Resource Guide can be ordered separately. For copies, contact the Office of Communications and Outreach (NTS-21), Fax (202) 493-2062.