Final Project Title
Pedestrians in Power
How many students heard the message of your project?
850
Estimated percentage of your student body?
61-70%
Who has your project aimed to reach? (check all that apply)
Freshman class | Sophomore class | Junior class | Senior class | Community at large
Objective: Clearly state the objective of your project.
Our project’s primary objective was to “twist” the common idea of sharing the road. We wanted to emphasize the importance of pedestrian safety by encouraging the community and our peers that this is equally as important as driver safety. Being a safe pedestrian entails being vigilant of one’s surroundings when going out and making one’s presence known to drivers, as in doing so it promotes the safety of both drivers and pedestrians.
Target Audience
This year our target audience focused on current drivers, passengers, and especially pedestrians in our community! Due to this primarily virtual school year, our outreach has been largely those in our high school and immediate community. Within the high school we made sure to focus on all students, especially those that are just learning how to drive. We did this to encourage them to learn good driving habits early on! Since our target audience was mostly focused on high schoolers this ranged from 14 year olds to 18 year olds.
Execution: Describe your project and its implementation
Our campaign was designed to help all pedestrians make safe and smart decisions as they share the road with various types of vehicles. We promoted our message through an eye-catching image demonstrating pedestrian safety which has been printed on lanyards. High school students learned about the importance of being a safe pedestrian through our Pedestrians in Power Quiz reviewing key statistics associated with pedestrian accidents and best practices for all pedestrians. Select participants won prizes focused on safe driving and walking such as fortune cookies with safety messages and reflective wristbands for traveling on the road at night. Students were also able to participate in an Instagram Contest in which they demonstrate being a model pedestrian or being good to pedestrians through art, photos, or video. Along with this, we created a short children’s book educating the younger generations on how to be the best pedestrian possible. When read to younger children, these rhymes and cartoon drawings allow students and parents to have an open dialogue about pedestrian safety at an early age. We believe pedestrians of all ages should be included in the conversation about sharing the road.
Teamwork: Show how you worked as a team in designing and implementing your project (examples: sign-in-sheets at meetings, photos of group working on tasks).
At the meetings, we delegated tasks to ensure everything was done successfully and in an equally shared environment. We had people working together to make goody bags for the participants of our pedestrian safety quiz. Members were also able to choose if they wanted to create the pedestrian safety quiz, write the fortune cookie jokes, and/or draw images for the children’s book. To keep track of these projects we created a collaborative Google Document so everyone could stay up-to-date at all times! Before ending some of our meetings (almost all done virtually this year), we made sure to take screenshots of the club members present along with having an attendance sheet to verify what members came to the meeting.
Use of resources: Show how you used local resources to help identify. deliver, assess and present your project (examples: nearby colleges, local police departments, persons affected by teen crashes, local/county/state governments, local businesses).
We utilized our local resources in this project by having people spread our message through social media (starting with our Instagram posts) and by communicating with people they know such as their friends and families. When students and staff members saw our message on various Google Classroom pages, they not only learned new information about pedestrian safety but took that back to the community by demonstrating best practices for how to be ideal pedestrians.
Use of media: Document how you made use of media in your project (examples: local radio, TV, newspapers, social media, websites, video, PSAs)
We made use of social media in our project by sharing the Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Coalition daily messages on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. All of our major project initiatives including the pedestrian safety quiz and Instagram contest were shared via our club Instagram account. We also posted messages on our club Google Classroom page so other students would be able to join us in our efforts! Finally, we utilized the Google Classroom pages of each of the four high school “classes” (example: Class of 2024) to encourage all students to participate in our pedestrian safety quiz and contest!
Thoroughness: Show how your project demonstrates an understanding of teen driving safety
Our project effectively communicated teen driving safety, shown through teenagers’ responses when asked what they learned through the campaign and their quiz scores when asked about pedestrian safety. Their high scores on the multiple choice and free response quiz questions made it clear that they became very aware of the importance of safe driving and being a model pedestrian. Furthermore, we ran a contest in which applicants were to visually represent their understanding of being a safe pedestrian, and the responses revealed an understanding of our campaign’s message.
Impact: Explain how you measured change and impact of your project.
We measured the impact of our project with the feedback and positive interest we got after conducting our school-wide and community initiatives throughout the year. For our school we kept track of how many students and the age range of the students that participated in the Pedestrian Safety Quiz by recording their names and grade levels. Those who did well were awarded with goody bags! Around 70 students were awarded goody bags and were congratulated on the morning announcements. We also conducted an Instagram art contest focused on displaying pedestrian safety in which students submitted pieces of art for a prize. One student winner was selected and also congratulated on the morning announcements. We measured the impact of our project within the community by continuously sharing information on pedestrian safety to raise awareness of its importance.
Sustainability: How will your project have a lasting effect within your target group?
Our project will have a lasting effect by encouraging students to be good pedestrians, be more aware of pedestrians, and to be sure to drive safely at all times. Since we were targeting high schoolers, some of which are learning to drive now, they will recognize these habits early on and practice them in the future.
Unexpected Lessons Learned: Describe any unintended results that came out of your project.
Below are some statements from project members and what they learned this year…
“One unexpected lesson that I learned while working on the project was how much a pedestrian can do in order to help drivers. I never knew how much just walking on the sidewalk could help a person who is driving feel better, knowing they’re not in danger of striking you. Today, I am trying to apply more of the tips regarding how to be a safe pedestrian that I learned through the quiz in order to help drivers and help keep myself safe as well.“
“I learned to be more aware of my surroundings rather than always being on my phone.”
“I did not recognize the importance of spreading awareness about pedestrian safety, as it is often overlooked and attention is more focused on what a driver can do to be cautious. Pedestrians play a huge role in driving safety and there are a lot of things people may not realize due to a lack of knowledge on the topic.”
Stipend Reporting: Your school received a stipend to support your Champion School Teen Driving Safety Project. Additionally, any funds that you raised as a result of your project must be reinvested into transportation safety. The purpose of this report is to itemize expenditures for your project that were paid from the stipend
Lanyards, Fortune Cookies with Pedestrian Messages, Reflective Arm Bands, etc. $508.35
Gift Bags, Candy, etc. $22.78
Gift Card for Contest Winner (including purchase fee) $54.95
Totat: v$586.08
Did your school project raise any funds as a result of the stipend received? For example, did your school utilize the stipend to purchase t-shirts for a fundraiser?
NO
