Car and Road

Innovative ways that communities are using to create safer streets. 

Here is an alarming statistic: Every day 44 kids are hit by a car while walking in the United States. That’s 16,000 kids hurt every year. Clearly, something needs to be done, and Safe Kids and FedEx are teaming up to help keep kids safe on the road as they head back to school.

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.