Innovative ways that communities are using to create safer streets. 

Moving to D.C. and having to walk everywhere was a huge adjustment. My worries coming out centered around running out of data on my phone from using Google Maps, getting lost, or the blisters I might get on my feet from walking so much. What I should have been concerned with is my safety as a pedestrian.

It’s no secret that teens and pre-teens are often distracted by technology: texting, listening to music, playing games. This becomes a particular safety issue when students cross the street while distracted. In fact, last year alone 274 kids ages 10-19 were killed while walking. How do we get these teens to listen to safety tips? It’s definitely a challenge. We turned to the teens themselves to ask how they would do it. And that’s how the Take Action Against Distraction Contest was born.

For too long, global road safety has not received the priority it deserves, especially when it comes to the needs of children. Not only are children at high risk in vehicles, on bicycles, and in some countries on motorcycles, they are vulnerable as pedestrians and are often injured or killed in the simple act of walking to school.