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