By Shannon Jackson
The Richmond Ambulance Authority
RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) today unveiled the national launch of its ‘Crossing Alert’ campaign rap PSA on YouTube to get pedestrians in Richmond, and throughout the nation, to stop, look and listen before crossing the street.
This public safety announcement, featuring a cameo appearance by Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, also targets distracted drivers in an effort to reduce the ever growing number of pedestrians and cyclists hit by cars while crossing the street.
“A pedestrian is hit by a vehicle once every three or four days here in Richmond,” said Chip Decker, CEO of the Richmond Ambulance Authority. “This is an alarming statistic and recent national news articles indicate that incidents involving distracted pedestrians and drivers are on the rise throughout the United States. We hope this YouTube PSA will draw widespread attention to this problem and reduce the number of pedestrians killed or injured while crossing the street.”
Crossing Alert was funded with a $5,000 FEMA grant and the buzz surrounding the campaign began days before filming even started. Sean Burton, an RAA reimbursement systems analyst and aspiring songwriter, wrote the Crossing Alert rap anthem and hopes this safety message spreads rapidly through social media.
“I was amazed to learn how many people get hit by cars on a regular basis,” said Burton. “It’s very important that this message gets out there because it’s not talked about a lot.
People need to be aware of how dangerous it can be to cross the street and pay attention.”
Rob Lawrence, chief operating officer for the Richmond Ambulance Authority, added:
“The reasons so many pedestrians are being hit are multifactorial but there are hints that both drivers and pedestrians are distracted by their smartphones – whether texting, talking, gaming or listening to music – and this inattentive behavior is very dangerous. Our Crossing Alert campaign was born as a ‘pedestrian countermeasure’ and we hope to see a decrease in pedestrian incidents in the months and years ahead. We have even created a small ‘street smart’ card to pass out to pedestrians providing top tips on safe street crossing, and the template for this card is freely available for other organizations that wish to adopt this program. All they have to do is contact me directly.”
Upon learning of the Crossing Alert campaign, AAA Mid-Atlantic issued the following statement: “AAA salutes Richmond Ambulance Authority for their continued and strong outreach efforts as a member of the transportation safety advocacy community. We have all seen the alarming videos, most often on YouTube, of folks walking off of the edge of train platforms onto live train tracks, into barriers or fountains, down steps and even worse into oncoming traffic, thus using YouTube to reach out to the same audience is a positive way to convey this important message,” said Martha Mitchell Meade, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Public Safety and EMS agencies throughout the nation are encouraged to join this Crossing Alert campaign and use the RAA rap PSA to spread this important safety message in their communities. EMS World, a leading journal in EMS, is launching the PSA on their website today to coincide with RAA’s national launch as is the American Ambulance Association (AAA) with hopefully many more to follow.
Creating powerful safety campaigns is nothing new to the Richmond Ambulance Authority. In the spring of 2011, RAA and partners launched the Rider Alert motorcycle safety campaign (www.RiderAlert.org) in Virginia which has since spread to many states across the nation and recently launched in Sweden.