The crackdown on drivers speeding in New York City never stops–especially in school zones.
Now transportation officials hope public school students can help the effort to slow them down. Street safety advocates at Transportation Alternatives say data shows a young person in the city is seriously injured in traffic near a school every other day. According to the transportation department, there were 38 youth pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, and 7,665 injuries, between 2018 and 2022.
The Department of Transportation is calling on students to create public service announcements about street safety as part of an annual contest called “We’re Walking Here.” The deadline to register is Oct. 15. Winners get a cash prize.
The project in NYC is an initiative that encourages students to engage with their city’s streets and traffic environment in a creative and educational manner. This competition, part of New York City’s Vision Zero campaign to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries, invites students from all grades to observe, discuss, and express their thoughts on pedestrian safety and responsible driving behaviors.
Students are asked to track the number of blocks walked over a two-week period, observe what makes city streets so dangerous and offer tips for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The project culminates in a contest where the most compelling and creative messages about pedestrian safety are recognized and rewarded. It’s an effective blend of education, creativity, and civic engagement, aimed at making the streets safer for everyone.
Last year, seventh graders from the Jamaica YMCA Intermediate School won with a video showing the ghost of a student killed in traffic looking at his own body in a road. An accompanying song urges motorists not to text and drive. The video that came in second place – by a second-grade class in Queens – featured a song, “Look Around,” set to the tune of House of Pain’s “Jump Around.”
“More so than any students in the country, New York City schoolkids rely on two feet and often two wheels as their means to get to school – and we are working hard to keep them safe,” said Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez in a release.
