In 2013, we made a commitment to preventing injury with a goal to increase the number of people and organizations engaged in activities that are effective in preventing injury and ensuring the overall safety of Wake County children. In support of that work, a grant awarded to the UNC Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) resulted in a baseline assessment of Wake County child pedestrian crashes and the establishment of a multi-disciplinary coalition that worked to reduce injuries through outreach, fostering cross-agency partnerships and policy changes.

Two of the key conclusions made by HSRC are: (1) more than 50 percent of all child pedestrian crashes are children aged 10 to 14 and  (2) concentrations of child pedestrian crashes occur in downtown Raleigh, North Raleigh, Cary, Garner, and Fuquay‐Varina. Normalized by population, Garner has the highest rate of child pedestrian crashes.  The child pedestrian crash study findings are useful for prioritizing improvements for child pedestrians as well as understanding which groups of child pedestrians are most at risk. - March 2014