Walk Wise, supported by Chevron, launched its fifth year and announced it is expanding its road safety education programs to 23 new schools in the Chuandongbei (CDB) Gas Project area in the Sichuan and Chongqing provinces of China. The program now serves a total of 80 primary schools and about 90,000 students in the region. More than 500 students attended the celebration at Zhaojia No. 2 Primary School in the Kai Zhou District of Chongqing Province.

The program provides trainings and educational materials to parents and teachers so they can then teach students about the importance of road and pedestrian safety. The project also creates traffic simulation corners on campuses, and provides students with reflective gear so they are visible along busy roads during their walks to and from school. A third-party evaluation of Walk Wise was completed in June 2016 and found that students’ knowledge and positive road behaviors significantly increased compared to data collected in 2013. Students improved their scores on a road safety quiz from 60% to 85%, and more than 90% looked left and right while crossing the street.

Chevron and AIP Foundation launched Walk Wise in 2012. In addition to implementing school-based activities, the project has hosted community events promoting the United Nations Road Safety Week, the National Traffic Safety Day, and general road safety awareness.

Read a full press release for the event here.