Resource Materials
Resource Sheet 9: Strategies for Pedestrian Safety Education and Public Awareness
There are major differences in the walking abilities, behavioral patterns, and learning capacities of different road users. Because of this, educational measures need to be tailored to specific audiences and to the behaviors they seek to modify. The following table provides a brief overview of audiences, key messages, and educational strategies that many professionals and community groups use to educate the public about pedestrian safety. Talk with your local injury prevention group, pedestrian/bicycle coordinator, public health agency, or school administrator to see what activities are taking place in your community and how you can be involved.
| Audience |
Important Messages |
Potential Strategies |
| Child pedestrians |
Pedestrian safety skills tailored to their level of development and personal safety (e.g., stranger danger) |
- Hold a school assembly, health fair, or have classroom or physical education lessons.
- Get parents involved.
- Offer structured skills practice.
|
| College age pedestrians |
Reasons to walk or bike, tips for walking safely around campus and town |
- Partner with campus offices, organizations, or student groups.
- Take advantage of campus life and university events to distribute information.
- Give incentives.
|
| Alcohol consumers |
Recognize that heavy drinking increases the risk of a crash, whether you are walking or driving. |
- Initiate public awareness campaigns.
- Work with law enforcement officers, engineers, and public health professionals to address alcohol-related issues.
|
| Adult and older pedestrians |
Threats associated with each age group and ways to improve personal safety and law abidance |
- Initiate campaigns to targeted settings/situations.
- Contact and work with established organizations, such as AARP or a senior center, which may already have a strong network with the pedestrian community.
|
| Drivers |
Safe driving practices near pedestrians |
- Plug into local media—have driver safety awareness campaigns on TV and in newspapers, host a commute-time radio talk series on pedestrian safety issues, or develop an ad campaign to be displayed on billboards, in parking garages, or in other places most visible to drivers.
- Couple education with enforcement.
|
