The purpose of the School Trip Safety and Urban Play Areas research project was to develop guidelines for the protection of young pedestrians (5-14 yrs) walking to and from school, entering and leaving school buses, and at neighborhood play. Volume I summarizes the entire project, providing an overview of the other documents developed during this Federal Highway Administration sponsored project. These include: Volume II - Student and Driver Perception of School Trip Safety and Traffic Control Devices: Volume III - A Survey of the Characteristics of the Urban Play Street; Volume IV - An Analysis of Daylight Savings Time-Related Student Pedestrian Safety Problems and Countermeasures; Volume V - Guidelines for the Development of Safe Route Maps for the School Walking Trip; Volume VI - Guidelines for Planning School Bus Routing and Scheduling; Volume VII - Guidelines for the Creation and Operation of Urban Play Streets. Research findings obtained under the project indicate that young students (5-9 yrs) are overinvolved in pedestrian accidents and are unaware of, or do not discriminate between various traffic control devices when compared to older students (10-14 yrs). Drivers in school areas do not generally perceive school signs other than the flashing school speed limit signs. School trip safety programs incorporating walking trip maps prepared by traffic engineering personnel permit the school and the parents to focus on a tangible means of improving student safety. The urban play street, which is a street temporarily closed to traffic while a variety of supervised recreational activities for all age groups take place, provides a safe environment for urban play.
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