KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Tomorrow, Public Health - Seattle & King County and the King County Traffic Safety Coalition are convening a Pedestrian Safety Summit to address ways to reduce pedestrian injuries and deaths in King County.

King County Executive Ron Sims and Dorothy Teeter, Interim Director and Health Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County, will open the summit. Over 100 participants representing the “3 E’s” of injury prevention, “Engineering, Enforcement, and Education,” will learn about the most recent data on pedestrian deaths in King County, hear from local and state experts, and explore ways to make an impact in reducing pedestrian injuries and deaths.

The Pedestrian Safety Summit will be:

Thursday, January 19, starting at 9 a.m.
Criminal Justice Training Center, Auditorium
19010 1st Ave., Seattle 98148 (Burien area) [MAP]

In King County, pedestrians make up one out of every five traffic deaths, whereas in Washington State and the United States the number is closer to one out of 10. From 2000 to 2003, an average of 26 pedestrians died in King County every year. The idea for the Pedestrian Safety Summit came from a recent Public Health report, “A Profile of Pedestrian Fatalities in King County, Washington, 2000-2003,” available at www.metrokc.gov/health/injury/pedestrian.htm.

Public Health promotes walking as an excellent way to stay fit and healthy. Pedestrians should wear bright or reflective clothing, follow traffic signals, and be alert for drivers at all times. Drivers need to drive the speed limit and be aware that pedestrians need to be respected. In most cases it is the law that the pedestrian has the right of way, and drivers should drive defensively when pedestrians cross unsafely.

Public Health – Seattle & King County is among the largest metropolitan health departments in the country, providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services that achieve and sustain safer and healthier communities for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County . Answering the needs of an increasingly diverse population, Public Health - Seattle & King County touches people's lives every day through health promotion and prevention activities, disease surveillance, health care, outreach and referral services, environmental health services, emergency medical care, jail health services, and readiness and response to public health emergencies.

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