Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Tips

Florida’s weather may be unpredictable, but it offers many great opportunities to get outside. Residents, snowbirds, and vacationers enjoy riding their bikes and walking. Your Community Traffic Safety Team wants everyone to stay safe by following these pedestrian and bicyclist safety tips!

Wear bright colors. Increase your visibility and use bike lights/reflectors.

With so many people heading outdoors for a bike ride, motorists – please ALWAYS WATCH for bicyclists on the road. Bicyclists, wear bright colors or reflective gear, so you are visible.


See and be seen. Make eye contact with drivers when crossing streets.

Walking is great for your health and environment! Lace-up and get moving, but be sure to SEE and BE SEEN. Make eye contact with drivers. Drivers, please look in all directions for people on foot! 


bike safety tip
Be predictable. Use sidewalks where provided. Cross streets where it is legal to do so.

It’s essential when riding your bicycle to be predictable. Use sidewalks and cross where it is legal. Motorists are to give three feet by law when following or passing cyclists.


Stop! Look left, right, and left for traffic.

Walking is a great way to get fresh air and exercise. Remember to look left, right, and left again for traffic. Motorists, please drive with care and share the road.


Walk defensively. Be prepared for the unexpected.

Pedestrians should walk defensively and be prepared for the unexpected. Drivers, please remember to focus on driving and eliminate distractions; phones down, eyes up!


Be careful in parking lots. They can be more hazardous than streets!

Be careful in busy parking lots – these areas can be more dangerous than streets! Drivers must proceed with caution and be on the lookout for pedestrians. 

WALKING AND BIKING DEFENSIVELY

Walking and bike riding are great ways to stay active and healthy. Exercising is also a great tool for people of all ages and improves driving skills, especially older drivers. To learn more, check out our Defensive Driving Tools.

Exercise/Fitness Benefits:

  • Enhances mobility, flexibility, and balance
    • Helps maintain or lose weight
    • Reduces impact of illness and chronic disease 
    • Helps with better sleep and more energy
    • Improves mood and self-confidence
    • Boosts cognitive function

Click here for more great pedestrian safety tips for walkers and drivers.

Click here for important bicycle safety tips and resources for cyclists and motorists.

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:

Walk Safe Activity Card

Presenting our Walk Safe Activity Card. Since last year’s Florida Mobility Week through this October’s Pedestrian Safety Month, the FDOT District 2 Community Traffic Safety Program distributed 15,000 Walk Safe activity cards. They are available for free at all 18 county local library systems in Northeast Florida.

Walk Safe - Walk the Path to Safety card
Walk Safe – Pedestrian Activity Card with Safety Tips for Drivers and Walkers

This Walk Safe activity card is double-sided with a walking wise crossword puzzle and a walk the path to safety maze. Great for kids, parents, teachers, and homeschoolers. Libraries are a wonderful place for key traffic safety education and information resources for our CTSP to distribute at no cost to our local communities. Pedestrians and drivers should always pay attention, put phones down, keep eyes up, look, and listen.

Walk Safe - Walk the Path to Safety card

We have also created this free digital, one-sided 8.5×11 Walk Safe, Pedestrian Safety resource available here for downloading, printing and sharing with your community.

Remember to Always Be Cautious and Pay Attention – Walk Safe!

Walk Safe, a pedestrian safety and educational resource, is part of a series. The Ride Safe, Drive Safe and Bike Safe pieces are available online below. Each piece has a different activity or puzzle with important traffic safety tips and reminders. Our goal is to help reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities on our roadways through education and community outreach.

More Pedestrian Safety Tips

Pedestrians are a vulnerable road user. Whether walking for enjoyment, exercise or engaged in work on the roadway, they need to be safe. Our goal is to increase driver awareness and education of pedestrian traffic safety. Click here for more pedestrian safety tips.