The growing incidence of pedestrian and distracted driving accidents in Baltimore City have spawned the creation of an East Baltimore pedestrian safety campaign.
Developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the campaign aims to reinforce awareness of pedestrian and vehicle safety and reduce the incidence of pedestrian injury and vehicle accidents.
The initiative pulls resources from experts at the Johns Hopkins schools of Public Health and Nursing, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
On average, more than 100 pedestrians are killed every year by a vehicle in Maryland (and nearly 4,500 nationally according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). In Baltimore City alone, 700 pedestrians are hit by a vehicle every year. In most cases, drivers and pedestrians are equally at fault.
Funded by the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration's Highway Safety Office and Johns Hopkins University, the multiplatform campaign will feature safety tips on radio, buses, metro stations, sandwich boards, signage throughout the Johns Hopkins East Baltimore campus, and the schools' social media platforms.
The key message is "STOP, WAIT, GO SLOW. Be Alert and Don't Get Hurt."
Both the message and strategy are based on several formative research studies, including a 3,900-plus respondent online survey, an observational behavior study, focus group discussions, and literature reviews. As a research-based project, the campaign will be fully evaluated.
