The Walk. Bike. Safe. Texas project is an outreach and educational initiative to educate Texas adults and seniors, including motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists, on laws and best practices affecting the safety of these vulnerable users.
Benefits to Texas Transportation Safety
Over the years, the WBS initiative has significantly contributed to transportation safety in Texas by raising awareness about pedestrian and bicyclist safety through targeted outreach and educational efforts. By leveraging crash data and social media campaigns, the initiative has enhanced public understanding of safety laws and best practices, supporting efforts to reduce fatalities and injuries on Texas roads and beyond.
Project Need and Approach
Pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in Texas have become an increasingly significant issue, with nearly 800 lives lost in 2020, accounting for over 20 percent of all fatalities. This trend has worsened over the past decade, with pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities increasing by 99 percent, pointing to a serious safety issue for these vulnerable road users. The Walk. Bike. Safe. (WBS) Texas initiative was developed to address this growing concern, using a data-driven approach to improve public awareness and encourage safer practices among motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists. The project aimed to educate Texans on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, promoting adherence to laws and best practices to reduce fatalities and injuries.
Outreach and educational programs have been shown to be an effective method to highlight important safety messages to a large population—in this case, Texans. The program incorporated several outreach methods, including the distribution of safety messages via social media, educational videos, and public presentations. A crash analysis focusing on cases where contributing factors were unclear also informed the messaging, addressing gaps in understanding pedestrian and bicyclist crashes. By leveraging data and effective communication strategies, the WBS initiative aimed to engage a broad audience and reduce fatalities and injuries for these vulnerable road users across the state.
Project Activities
2025
Throughout fiscal year 2025, the WBS project team conducted a variety of activities aimed at increasing public awareness of pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Key activities included the distribution of over 400 safety messages via social media, which resulted in more than 20 million engagements. Additionally, two educational videos focusing on bike infrastructure and pedestrians with disabilities were produced. The project team also analyzed pedestrian and bicycle crash data from 2015 to 2025, with a focus on crashes involving older pedestrians aged 65 and older, comparing the group to pedestrians under 65 years of age. The results showed the proportion of older pedestrian crashes increased in recent years, reaching 12% in the most recent year.
Presentations on pedestrian and bicyclist safety were delivered at various events, including webinars and conferences, reaching diverse audiences. The project team also attended several events to distribute educational materials and engage with the public. Additionally, the WBS website—a hub for pedestrian and bicycle safety information in Texas—remained a strong resource. Together, these activities, deliverables, and materials were designed to inform the public, improve understanding of safety issues, and ultimately reduce fatalities and injuries involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
2024
Throughout fiscal year 2024, the WBS project team conducted a variety of activities aimed at increasing public awareness of pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Key activities included the distribution of over 400 safety messages via social media, which resulted in more than 12 million engagements. Additionally, two educational videos focusing on pedestrian crossing signals and driver behavior were produced. The project team also analyzed pedestrian and bicycle crash data from 2018 to 2022, with a contributing factor of other or none listed, identifying trends and potential contributing factors that were not captured in traditional crash reporting. A crash analysis infographic summarizing these findings was also created.
Presentations on pedestrian and bicyclist safety were delivered at various events, including webinars and conferences, reaching diverse audiences. The project team also attended several events to distribute educational materials and engage with the public. Additionally, the WBS website—a hub for pedestrian and bicycle safety information in Texas—remained a strong resource. Together, these activities, deliverables, and materials were designed to inform the public, improve understanding of safety issues, and ultimately reduce fatalities and injuries involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
Project Title: Walk. Bike. Safe. Texas
Project Start and End Dates: October 2020 – PRESENT
Author List: Neal Johnson
Sponsor/Funding Source: Texas Department of Transportation Traffic Safety