"Stop Think! Live" Pedestrian Road Safety Campaign launched

Transport for London has urged teenagers to "Stop Think! Live" when using the roads. 

Don't be distracted while  crossing the road. Be aware that your mobile or MP3 player around traffic could have fatal consequences.

A recent poll carried out on Facebook  by Transport for London (TfL) asked about distractions and revealed that nine out of ten teenagers have seen their peers using a mobile phone while crossing the road according.  The behaviour, identified by teenagers themselves is one in a series of distractions shown in TfL's latest teen road safety 'Stop Think! Live' campaign launched in March.

The campaign is part of TfL's road safety work to reduce the number of people killed and injured on London's roads, which also includes targeted information for motorists to ensure they take care and watch out for other road users.  In addition to this, TfL continues to implement engineering measures and work with the police to enforce speed limits and driver behaviour to improve the safety of our roads.

A poll of London teenagers was carried out exclusively on Facebook. Eight out of ten teens answering the anonymous poll from October 2012 which targeted Londonersaged 13-16, said they had seen other teens step into the road without looking.

8,691 or 88% of  9,895 responding to the poll, said that they has seen someone around 13-16 use their phone while crossing the road. Only 12% said that they had not.

6,393 respondents were asked if they had  seen anyone aged 13-16 step into the road without looking and 5,465 or 85% said yes.

Alongside mobile phones and stepping into the road without looking, a third distraction shown in the campaign is listening to an mp3 player. 

Posters across the capital, placed  in bus shelters and phone boxes, show the stark consequences of being involved in a collision while crossing the road. Bodies lying still on tarmac carry straplines that flag up different types of distraction, 'He saw the text he didn't see the car' 'She saw the bus she didn't see the car'.

In additional to traditional media, video bloggers will use their unique 'vlogs' to spread the message to their young followers via social media.

Road casualties among teenagers in the capital have fallen by two thirds over the past 10 years yet 236 teenagers were still killed or seriously injured on London's roads in 2011.

Ben Plowden Director of Planning, TfL Surface Transport said:

"We are committed to reducing road casualties in the capital. Despite the continuing fall in the number of teenagers killed or seriously injured on the road, protecting London's young people by improving the safety of London's roads remains a key priority. The feedback from this Facebook poll confirms that there is still work to be done."