Watch For Me NC project

Timeframe

2012-2022

HSRC Team

Dan Gelinne, Training Program Manager
Dr. Laura Sandt, PI 2012 – 2018 Sarah O’Brien, PI 2017 – 2022 Seth LaJeunesse, team member, 2014 – 2022 Kristin Blank, program manager, 2017 – 2022 Nancy Pullen-Seufert, team member, 2013 – 2015 Browse recent work by these HSRC researchers on their individual bio page.

Collaborating organization(s)

North Carolina Department of Transportation

Summary

The Watch for Me NC (WFM) program, a statewide road safety program, specifically aimed to reduce pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and deaths through a comprehensive approach that included public education, community engagement, and high-visibility law enforcement efforts.

The program was a collaborative effort involving state agencies and local communities, sponsored by the NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program. The UNC Highway Safety Research Center led program management and coordination, while the North Carolina Department of Transportation led the purchased media campaign. Each partner community led its own local community engagement efforts through a regional coalition of members representing law enforcement agencies and planning, engineering, transportation, and health departments within their communities.

Research Impact, Results, and Findings

The WFM program started as a pilot program in 2012 with four communities in Wake, Durham, and Orange counties. By 2022, the program expanded to include over 65 participating community partners. Over the years, each community engaged in its own outreach, education, and enforcement activities, which led to diverse outcomes at the local level, documented in program annual reports.

In 2018, researchers at HSRC evaluated program impact and safety effectiveness. They found that the WFM program had a positive effect on reducing county-wide pedestrian crashes by 12.8%, along with a 21.7% reduction in nighttime pedestrian crashes and a 9.5% reduction in pedestrian crashes where the driver failed to yield. However, the researchers were unable to determine if the program had any impact on bicyclist crashes.

Funding organization(s)

NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program

Scope

State

Deliverables

2020 Five-Year Survey: Public Phone Survey Measures, Methods, and Results 2022 Communications Toolkit 2021 Program Report 2020 Program Report 2018 Program Report 2018 Crash Based Evaluation of the Watch for Me NC Program 2017 Program Report 2016 Program Report 2015 Program Report 2014 Program Report 2013 Program Report 2012 Pilot Program Media Coverage Pilot Program Overview

Images

 

Additional information

Watch for Me, Public Roads, September 2017, Federal Highway Administration