Traffic Safety for Children

Safety rules at home, school and around the neighborhood. The Northeast Florida Department of Transportation District Two Community Traffic Safety Program has developed special educational content highlighting traffic safety for children. It is never too early to educate kids on safety rules – at home, at school, and around the neighborhood.

Materials include the “Safety Town” activity booklet, coloring pages, social media graphics, and videos. Please share these free resources with children in your family, classroom, or neighborhood!

Free Traffic Safety Coloring Sheets & Activity Book for Children:

Traffic Safety Videos for Kids:

Great Safety Tips for Kids:

Stroll and Roll the Right Way!

  • Walk & ride during the day when it is light out.
  • Have a buddy with you.
  • Don’t enter the road between parked cars.
  • Cross the street at a corner or crosswalk.
  • Look left, right, & left again before crossing a street.
  • Sidewalks are the safest place to walk or ride.
  • Wear a helmet every time you bike or skate.
  • Ride your bike with the flow of traffic.
  • Obey traffic signs & signals.

Children Must Wear a Bike Helmet… It’s the Law!

Florida state law requires all riders under 16 years of age to wear a helmet when on a bicycle. Additionally, any bicycle passenger aged 16 or younger, like small children riding in a bike seat or trailer, must also wear a helmet. This applies if they are on the sidewalk, road or other public roadway. The helmet must meet federal guidelines. All bike helmets should be properly fitted and securely fastened on the head with a strap.

Stranger Danger!

  • Never go up to a car or to someone you don’t know.
  • Have a safe place and people you can go to in an emergency.

Traffic Safety Storytime Videos for Children:

Educating children on traffic safety is vital, so we made traffic safety storytime videos. Two of the videos were read by kids, for kids! The books include “Watch Out On the Road,” “Learn About Road Safety,” “Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again,” “Be Careful and Stay Safe,” and “Franklin Rides a Bike.”


More traffic safety resources and activity sheets for children can be found by visiting the link  below:

UPDATED Florida Bike Safety Law

We are concerned Florida is still one of the most dangerous states for cyclists and want to take this opportunity to remind cyclists, pedestrians and motorists of the updated Florida bike safety law. Passed to improve bike safety on our roadways, this bill went into effect on July 1, 2021, and was .

Here is a summary of some of the updated Florida bike safety law changes which were made to the existing statute:

  • Motorists can make a right turn while passing a bicyclist only if the bicyclist is a minimum of 20 feet from the intersection.
  • Florida driver’s license exams will now include bicycle safety questions.
  • Cyclists in groups of 10 or fewer can proceed through an intersection after coming to a complete stop. Motorists must let the last rider pass before proceeding.
  • Motorists MUST obey the 3 feet passing law.

Drivers who do not obey the law could be subject to a non-criminal moving violation.

To read more about these important updates, visit the Florida Senate website: CS/SB 950: Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety.

Northeast Florida Bicyclist Crash Facts:

  • 6,146 Floridians were injured in bike-related crashes in 2021. Of those, Northeast Florida DOT District 2 reported 500 injuries, which includes 13 fatalities. The number of fatal injuries from bicycle crashes declined from 23 in 2020.
  • Bicycle fatality and serious injury crashes made up about 8% of the total fatality and serious injury crashes on our Northeast Florida District roadways during 2021.
  • Almost ¾ of all bike crashes happen in broad daylight.
  • Bike crashes tend not to be the result of the cyclist or motorist being impaired.
  • Duval County had the most serious bike-related injuries and fatalities in District 2 in 2021. 
updated Florida bike safety law

The Traffic Safety Team website has dozens of important bicycle safety tips and resources. They are available for free. Below are some that you may download, print and share.

Visit our Bicycle Safety page for more resources. Materials are free to download and share. There are bookmarks, tip cards, posters and social media graphics. We also have a Safety for Kids page with bike safety activities!

Give 3 feet when passing

Pedestrian/Bicyclist Countermeasures

Cost Effective Safety Engineering Countermeasures Help Protect Vulnerable Road Users

Presenting Pedestrian/Bicyclist Countermeasures. FDOT District Two CTSP continues the educational countermeasure series based on proven measures of effectiveness by the FHWA. These pieces outline countermeasures to improve safety for people traveling by foot, wheelchair, or bicycle.

Click on the five educational Pedestrian/Bicyclist Countermeasures cards below to download a copy. They may be printed or shared digitally through email or social media with our Traffic Safety Teams, communities, and agencies.

Many of the serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists occur during dark or dusk hours. They also occur outside of marked crosswalks or bicycle lanes. Motorist speed is one of the major factors that can mean the difference between a minor injury and a serious injury or fatality. The traffic safety strategies and treatments of roadway markings, configurations and traffic lights reduce serious injury and fatal crashes. This happens by slowing traffic, allowing more space and safe areas for walkers and cyclists.

Click here for a PDF document of these pedestrian/bicyclist countermeasures cards used in Northeast Florida, provided by the FDOT District Two CTSP.


Traffic Safety Countermeasures that Work in Reducing Pedestrian-Vehicle Crashes:

1. Walkways, shared use paths, and sidewalks improve safety and mobility.

Pedestrian walkways are pathways for use by people traveling by foot or using a wheelchair that are separated from motor vehicle traffic by a space, barrier, or curb and gutter. Northeast Florida integrates and maintains accessible walkways, shared use paths, sidewalks, and roadway shoulders into the transportation system in both urban and rural areas, providing safer spaces for pedestrians to walk.

2. Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) give pedestrians a head start. 

LPIs allow pedestrians to enter an intersection a few seconds before vehicles get a green light or have priority to turn. Benefits of LPIs include increased visibility of crossing pedestrians, reduced conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles, more likelihood of motorists yielding to pedestrians, and better safety for pedestrians who may be slower to start into the intersection. 

3. Pedestrian crossing islands and medians reduce pedestrian crashes. 

Raised medians and pedestrian crossing islands separate motorized and non-motorized road users. To safely cross a roadway, pedestrians need to estimate vehicle speeds, adjust their walking speed, determine gaps in traffic, and predict vehicle paths. Pavement markings, raised medians, or islands help improve pedestrian safety by allowing walkers to cross one direction of traffic at a time. This proven pedestrian safety countermeasure is used in Northeast Florida in curbed sections of urban and suburban multi-lane roadways. 

4. Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHBs) assist with safe crossing. 

PHBs help pedestrians safely cross busy or higher-speed roadways at midblock crossings and uncontrolled intersections, where a majority of pedestrian fatalities occur. A PHB lets motorists proceed when a pedestrian has cleared the travel lane. For more information and details about PHBs, please visit: trafficsafetyteam.org/pedestrian-hybrid-beacon.

5. Roadway reconfigurations improve safety for all road users. 

A “road diet” typically reconfigures a four-lane undivided road into a three-lane road with a center left-turn lane and two through lanes. This can reduce rear-end, left-turn, and right-angle crashes. It also allows for the installation of pedestrian refuge islands, bicycle lanes, on-street parking, or transit stops. Road diets help calm traffic and provide better mobility and provide access that accommodates the needs of pedestrians with fewer lanes to cross and more space for cyclists. 


Bike Safe Activity Card

Pick up a free Bike Safe Activity Card at your local Northeast Florida library. The Community Traffic Safety Program (CTSP) distributed 15,000 Bike Safe activity cards this month to public libraries in all 18 counties of FDOT District Two. 

Be a Roll Model artwork
Bike Safe Activity Card with Traffic Safety Tips for Cyclists and Motorists

This Bike Safe Activity Card is double-sided with a helmet coloring page and a word search puzzle for kids or adults. There are bicycle safety messages for drivers and cyclists. The helmet safety rules are great for parents, caregivers and educators to discuss with children.

About the Bike Safety Activity Card Series

These free educational resources are part of a series that will be distributed quarterly this year. First, Drive Safe became available in January. Now, Bike Safe, launched in spring, which will be followed by Ride Safe this summer. Finally, Walk Safe in the fall. Each has a different activity or puzzle with important traffic safety tips and reminders.

The Northeast Florida CTSP has long since partnered with local, county public library systems. The FDOT District Two covers 18 counties, from rural to urban communities. Libraries are a wonderful venue for the public to access educational and informational resources. The are also a wonderful place for our Community Traffic Safety Teams to promote key traffic safety messages, like biking safe (wear a helmet) and driving safe (share the road).

Be a Roll Model activity card

We created this free digital, one-sided 8.5×11 Bike Safe sheet available here for downloading, printing and sharing with your community.

Our goal is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities on our Northeast Florida roadways and protect all road users. Together, we can make traffic safety a top priority. Check out the other three safety and educational activity cards in this series below:

The Northeast Florida CTSP website has many tips and resources available. For more Bicycle Safety Tips, click here.

Bicycle Safety

The Adventures in Biking Safely – March is Florida Bicycle Month!

FDOT D2 CTST FL Traffic Bike SafetyFlorida’s weather in March is perfect for biking, so get out and ride. With many drivers and cyclists on the road this month, let’s gear up with some bicycle safety reminders.

Drivers: Share the road with bicyclists and always pass or follow cyclists with at least a 3 foot barrier.

Bicyclists: Wear a helmet, ride on the right and make sure drivers can see you with bright clothing and reflectors or lights on your bike.

For more important bicycle safety tips, crash facts and resources, go to our traffic safety bike page here.


UNF Gets New Bike Fix-It Stations

What a perfect way to kick off bicycle month! We are excited to share the new bike stations provided by the FDOT Northeast Florida, and located at the University of North Florida. Your Traffic Safety Team worked with UNF Police Department to coordinate the installation and identification of locations for students – great for quick and easy bicycle repairs to help bike safe!

FDOT D2 CTST Bike Fixit Station at UNF FDOT D2 CTST Bike Fixit Station at UNF

The self-serve bike repair stations are free to use. They contain air pumps along with a variety of tools to help riders work on their bikes. Located around the UNF campus at: Crossings Bike Station Q Building, Fountains Bike Station, Hall Landing Bike Station, and Village A Building Bike Station.

FDOT D2 CTST Bike Fixit Station at UNF FDOT D2 CTST Bike Fixit Station at UNF