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In Child Pedestrians at Risk: A Ranking of U.S. Metropolitan Areas, Safe Kids confirmed that child pedestrian safety is a nationwide problem, but communities are most successful in creating safe pedestrian environments for children when they develop and implement solutions at the local level.

"It's not enough to teach your children to look both ways when they cross the street. Civic organizations, schools, police, local governments and caregivers each have a role to play in creating safe walking environments," says Martin R. Eichelberger, M.D., president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide. "Children need to learn safe behavior, but children do not bear the ultimate responsibility for pedestrian safety. Whole communities do."

No single factor determines the relative safety of metropolitan areas, the study found. Characteristics commonly reported in safer areas include:

* Pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. Metro areas with more interconnected streets that are accessible and encouraging to pedestrians were found to be safer than those with wide, diffuse street networks.

* Civic involvement in pedestrian safety issues. Safer areas had a higher rate of collaboration between multiple community organizations.

* Support from government agencies. State and local government support, such as participation in pedestrian safety activities by local officials and a forum for advocates to speak out on behalf of or against legislation, was also found to be more common in safer metroareas.

* More frequent exposure to walking. In the safer areas, the percentage of annual walking trips taken is higher t han the percentage taken in more dangerous areas.

The report also shows that in the metro areas studied, state spending of federal funds did not necessarily result in safer pedestrian environments for children; however, local funding was more closely tied to areas' rankings. Local governments spent money on organizations addressing pedestrian safety in 45 percent of the safest areas studied, and only 17 percent of the most dangerous areas.

"Walking is a healthy way for children to get to and from school, but it all starts with ensuring their safety on our streets," said Vice Admiral Richard Carmona, U.S. Surgeon General. "My office declared 2005 'The Year of the Healthy Child' and two of our primary focuses are injury prevention and obesity. Walking has tremendous health benefits, but fewer and fewer children walk to school each year. By making the walk to school safer, we can encourage more kids to get the exercise they need."

Nationwide, pedestrian injuries are the number two cause of accidental death among children ages 14 and under. On average, each year in the United States, 650 children are killed and 43,000 treated in emergency rooms as a result of pedestrian injuries. The child fatality rate from pedestrian injuries declined 59 percent from 1987 to 2002, the latest year for which statistics are available.

Safe Kids Walk This Way, a grassroots pedestrian safety initiative in more than 250 schools nationwide, is made possible through support from program sponsor FedEx Express. Through this year-round program, children learn safe pedestrian behaviors; school communities identify the pedestrian hazards surrounding their schools; and school pedestrian safety committees and task forces lead efforts to educate pedestrians and drivers about safe behaviors, enforce traffic laws and improve environments for child pedestrians. For More Infomation http://www.walktoschool.org/.

Safe Kids Worldwide Ranking of Most Dangerous Metropolitan Statistical Area

                          for Child Pedestrians


   1. Memphis, Tenn. (including parts of Ark. and Miss.)
   2. St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.
   3. Oklahoma City, Okla.
   4. San Antonio, Texas
   5. Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas
   6. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
   7. Cincinnati-Hamilton, Ohio (incl. parts of Ky. and Ind.)
   8. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
   9. Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Mich.
   10. Milwaukee-Racine, Wisc.
   11. Orlando, Fla.
   12. Atlanta, Ga.
   13. Indianapolis, Ind.
   14. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
   15. Rochester, N.Y.
   16. Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C.
   17. Louisville, Ky. (incl. parts of Ind.)
   18. New Orleans, La.
   19. Nashville, Tenn.
   20. Kansas City, Mo. (incl. parts of Kan.)
   21. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
   22. Jacksonville, Fla.
   23. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C. (incl. parts of S.C.)
   24. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Calif.
   25. Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah
   26. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
   27. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
   28. Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Mich.
   29. Sacramento-Yolo, Calif.
   30. Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, Ill. (incl. parts of Ind. and Wisc.)
   31. Washington, D.C. (incl. Baltimore, Md. and parts of Va. and W.V.)
   32. Columbus, Ohio
   33. Denver-Boulder-Greeley, Colo.
   34. Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, Va. (incl. parts of N.C.)
   35. Philadelphia-Wilmington, Penn. (incl. Atlantic City, N.J. and parts
       of Del. and Md.)
   36. Hartford, Conn.
   37. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. (incl. parts of Wisc.)
   38. San Diego, Calif.
   39. Las Vegas, Nev. (incl. parts of Ariz.)
   40. Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, Mass. (incl. parts of N.H., Maine and
       Conn.)
   41. Cleveland-Akron, Ohio
   42. New York-Northern New Jersey (incl. Long Island, N.Y., parts of N.J.,
       Conn. and Pa.)
   43. Pittsburgh, Pa.
   44. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif.
   45. Portland-Salem, Ore. (incl. parts of Wash.)
   46. Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Wash.
   47. Austin-San Marcos, Texas