Watch for Me Program Proposed in North Carolina

RALEIGH, NC- North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is looking for North Carolina communities to partner with for its pedestrian and cyclist safety initiative known as Watch For Me NC.*

The initiative works with law enforcement officers to provide training and it also educates the public to help increase awareness of pedestrian and cyclist safety. 

Each community that joins the program will receive free safety tools, technical assistance, free law enforcement training, and support that is individually customized.  According to the program website, cars struck over 2,900 pedestrians and 950 cyclists in the state in 2016. Between 2017 and 2018, North Carolina's pedestrian fatalities increased by 23 percent, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA).

Many of these accidents occur at intersections and in parking lots. These collisions are common when pedestrians are near bus stops too. Many of the high-risk locations are places where drivers should be aware of high pedestrian traffic, and yet the roads are not designed to accommodate pedestrians but are built with vehicle traffic in mind. 

Pedestrian crashes are increasing throughout the country and finally sparking aggressive safety initiatives. The success of some of these programs indicates that pedestrian crashes are not inevitable, and there is much we could do to reduce the number of traffic-related pedestrian and cyclist deaths. The Vision Zero Network reports that while pedestrians are dying in higher numbers around the country, deaths are dropping in large cities where Vision Zero efforts took effect.

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/31643/ncdot-seeks-new-partners-for-2020-watch-for-me-nc-program and https://www.watchformenc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/WFM_Flyer.pdf and https://visionzeronetwork.org/with-pedestrian-fatalities-on-the-rise-solutions-found-in-vision-zero/ and https://www.watchformenc.org/crashfacts/ and https://www.postandcourier.com/news/hundreds-of-sc-pedestrians-and-bicyclists-are-dying-here-s/article_882982e6-6611-11e9-b638-bb86571a640e.html and https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/pedestrian-safety and https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2019-02/FINAL_Pedestrians19.pdf