Abstract
Unintentional injuries, such as pedestrian, bicycle, and drowning injuries-which are typically preventable when proper safety precautions are followed-are the leading cause of death among the pediatric population of the United States. The largest incidence of pediatric pedestrian injuries and fatalities occurs within Miami-Dade County (M-DC), Florida. In 2003, the University of Miami KiDZ Neuroscience Center (KNC) created the WalkSafe program to directly address this high rate of pediatric pedestrian injuries and fatalities in M-DC. Over the past 20 years, the KNC has been able to successfully develop, implement, evaluate, disseminate, modify, and sustain the WalkSafe program. Since the inception of this program, a significant decrease in the rate of pedestrian injuries and fatalities has occurred. The WalkSafe program has been an effective countermeasure, and its annual implementation increases pediatric pedestrian safety knowledge in elementary school-age children, while providing valuable data to impact student safety, community connectedness, and future infrastructure modifications. It is hoped that other states, cities, communities, and school districts can implement similar programs to increase pedestrian safety and reduce injury rates.