BATON ROUGE, La. –The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) on Tuesday will launch a public service announcement (PSA) campaign designed to reduce pedestrian crashes on Louisiana roads.

The pedestrian safety PSAs are part of the “Wreck Less, Louisiana” highway safety campaign that will continue through September. The pedestrian PSAs will run throughout May.

The goal of the highway safety PSA campaign is to promote driver safety and awareness on Louisiana’s roadways to prevent the nearly 1,000 motor-vehicle fatalities that occur each year. The campaign is tackling six highway safety issues that are major contributors to crashes. DOTD officials believe the PSAs will help reduce crashes by influencing driver behavior. Each month of the campaign, which began in April, features a new highway safety issue with a separate PSA for print, radio and television. 

The pedestrian safety PSAs address dangerous pedestrian behavior such as walking on the roadside while under the influence, jaywalking, crossing interstate highways and “playing in the street.” In 2005, 107 people died in pedestrian traffic crashes and another 1,340 were injured. Between the years 2001 to 2005, more than 500 pedestrians were killed in highway crashes. Pedestrian fatalities make up approximately 10 percent of all highway fatalities each year in Louisiana. 

The monthly campaign topics are scheduled as follows: Work-Zone Safety (April), Pedestrian Safety (May), Move It Law (June), Speeding (July), Tailgating (August) and Driver Distraction (September).

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www.dotd.la.gov