Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (AMEA)

FedEx and Safe Kids Research Shows Distracted Walking Endangering Elementary School Students

SEOUL, July 3, 2017 — FedEx Express (FedEx), the world’s largest express transportation company and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and Safe Kids Korea conducted a survey on the walking habits of 705 students from five elementary schools in Seoul in December, 2016. The survey found elementary school students’ distracted walking habits needing significant improvement.

With the growing prevalence of young students using electronic devices such as cell phones and tablet computers, they are often distracted while walking. Eighty-five percent of the students responded that they own a mobile phone, and eighty percent admitted to distracted walking.

“Young pedestrians are at increased risk to traffic accidents when they are not alert to their surroundings. Distracted walking is a major concern for pedestrians, especially in the age of texting, talking or listening to music on mobile technology,” said Eun-Mi Chae, managing director of FedEx Express Korea. “Safety is a core belief at FedEx and we have worked with Safe Kids Korea since 2004 on the Walk This Way program to raise awareness on pedestrian safety with the goal of reducing injury to children.”

FedEx and Safe Kids recently held a road Safety awareness activity in collaboration with the Korean National Police Agency for the Mom’s Hand campaign in March. The activity educated students on safe walking behaviors through an instructional session on walking safety and practical exercises.

“The National Police Agency found that although the number of deaths from traffic accidents have decreased, the number of children’s deaths from traffic accidents have increased by 9.2%[1],” said Park Hee-jong, president of Safe Kids Korea. “Pedestrian safety awareness for children is of the utmost importance as pedestrian accidents account for 50 percent of these deaths[2].”

[1] Financial News, http://www.fnnews.com/news/201702252325356186

[2] Herald Business, http://news.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20160706000095