Dear Pedestrian Safety Advocate,

As you know, pedestrian safety is an issue that affects all of us. Whether it's a stroll around the corner, to a friend's house or work, or simply as exercise to clear the mind after a long day indoors - Americans love to walk. Walking is not just an exercise, it affects our health, it's good for the environment, it improves our quality of life. We are all pedestrians at some time of day. Yet, this simplest of life's pleasures sometimes comes with a terrible cost. Each year thousands of pedestrians are killed or injured. In fact, during the last decade, more than 63,000 pedestrians died and more than a million others were injured in pedestrian-vehicle crashes. The good news is that there are things we can do to put an end to this.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is working to make a difference and make walking safer. FHWA created the Pedestrian Safety Campaign Planner in collaboration with national and local pedestrian safety advocates to educate pedestrians and drivers about ways to improve pedestrian safety. The names of these advocates and the organizations they represent are listed on page 39.

Raising awareness about these important issues isn't easy. In a world where we are bombarded everyday with information from emails, voicemails, cell phones, personal communication devices, websites with pop-up ads and telemarketing calls at dinner time, it's easy to overlook devices that are designed to keep us safe while walking; like crosswalks, pedestrian signals, and pedestrian warning signs. It may seem like a daunting task, but with this campaign, we can educate both pedestrians and drivers about what to look for, what to expect and how to proceed in an attempt to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities and achieve greater pedestrian safety.

The Pedestrian Safety Campaign materials included in this kit are research-tested and designed for use by any organization to promote pedestrian safety. They are public domain materials. We hope that by making these materials available, we can help make travel safer for pedestrians everywhere.

Federal Highway Administration
Office of Safety

This document is disseminated under sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein only because they are considered essential to the object of this document.