The Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation worked with NCSU’s, Institute of Transportation Research and Education to develop “Let’s Go NC!, A
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Skills Program for Healthy, Active Children”, designed to aid instructors in teaching and encouraging safe pedestrian and bicycle behaviors. Through this curriculum children develop skills that will promote healthy transportation choices. “Let’s Go NC!” gives instructors throughout NC elementary grade schools, community centers such as YMCA and 4H-Clubs, health programs, law enforcement agencies, and more the tools needed to help inform decision making in the battle against obesity, child traffic injuries and death, and the urgent need to create in our youth healthy active lifestyles.
The number of children walking and bicycling to school nationwide has decreased greatly within just a few decades, while the numbers for childhood obesity have risen dramatically. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, 19.3 percent of North Carolina youth are obese. This ranks North Carolina as the 5th most obese state in the nation for youth ages 10-17.
Educating children on pedestrian and bicycle safety can reduce the number of child traffic injuries and deaths. Children who don’t understand traffic and the rules are more likely to be injured. Approximately 16 child pedestrians and 3 child bicyclists between 0-15 are involved in fatal crashes each year in NC and hundreds more are injured.
Child safety and wellbeing is paramount to NCDOT and is part of its mission and goal to make NC safer for persons of all ages and abilities. Teaching both the pedestrian and bicycle lessons will give children the skills necessary to be safe, healthy and active in their daily lives. The goal of the curriculum is to develop walking and biking skills for active lifestyles that can be carried into adulthood. The purpose of the program is to help children transfer the knowledge they learn into automatic responses in their behaviors. These behaviors will benefit future generations and will work to promote a healthy, well informed culture for safe active living and will improve transportation choices all North Carolinians.
To access “Let’s Go NC!, A Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Skills Program for Healthy, Active Children”,
Click here.
- You can download all curriculum materials to your computer including: lesson plans, lesson videos, and guidance materials for instructors from “Let’s Go NC!”, Interface.
