In every town or city, there's at least one street or a few intersections that seem to attract more car accidents than others. Maybe it's a curvy mountain road with no signs for drivers to slow down, or a busy main street that needs just one more traffic light. By doing something about dangerous streets now, streets can be made safer because of a community's campaigning and not in response to a tragic accident. Whatever your street safety issue is, you can do something about it!

Step One: Targeting a Street

Come up with a list of dangerous streets, or choose one for personal reasons. Gather a group of friends at lunch, talk with your family or bring the topic up at your Do Something club meeting. Sit down, grab a pen and paper, and ask some questions to get the discussion started. Here are a few:

• Are there certain street names you hear over and over in the news?
• If you drive, what streets do you feel are the least safe to drive on?
• If you walk around a lot, what streets do you feel the most endangered when walking on?
• Has anyone you know ever been in a car accident due to a street safety issue?

As people begin tossing out their answers, write down the names of the street and what specifically makes it dangerous. There are a lot of things that can make a street dangerous. It could be a lack of sidewalk or just that the road is too curvy. If no one can come up with streets off the top of their head, you might try contacting city officials to get a list of streets where the most accidents happen. Once you have a good-sized list, look it over and identify the one street or intersection you want to focus on.

Step Two: Brainstorming Solutions

Once you've selected your target street, the next step is to come up with a practical solution that will address the issue. For example, say you've chosen the intersection of Do Something Avenue and Main Street because you know a lot of cars run red lights, causing more than one accident a year. A possible solution could be installing traffic cameras to increase the chance of red light violations actually being punished and to discourage drivers from trying to rush through the intersection. Here is a list of possible issues and some practical solutions:

This list is by no means exhaustive, feel free to take these suggestions and tailor them to your own community and passions.

Step Three: Making it Happen

So you've identified a dangerous street, why it's dangerous and a way you think it can be fixed. How do you make that happen? If your practical solution is to make a physical change to the street, the first thing you can do is research what it takes for the city or county to work on a street. Go on your town or city's website (if there is one) or contact a city official to get the answers to these questions:

• Is there an existing process you need to go through for making changes to a street?
• Are there applications to fill out for new traffic lights?
• Is there a formal way to file a complaint about a dangerous street?
• Does the city council have to approve of all proposed street changes?

You might have to make a propsal to your city council members, so be prepared to explain why you think the street should be changed, what you want to do and how much money you think it will cost and why it will benefit the city.

Step Four: Getting Others Involved and Aware!

Educating the people around you about your target intersection and asking them to get involved are both great ways to get the issue of safe driving out there. Support from the community would also be a really compelling factor for your city or town to take action. Here are a few ways you can get others involved and aware:

• Write an article for your school newspaper
• Do your own research, interview drivers and students about street safety in your community, and even include a list of other dangerous intersections that need to be dealt with. Include suggestions as to how your fellow students can get involved, like attending city council meetings or telling other people about it.
• Write a letter to the editor of your town newspaper
• A letter to the editor is a great way to voice your opinion. Make sure you write in a professional manner so your letter is publication ready, and include all of your important points about why you want to make you target street safer.
• Attend a city council meeting
• Lots of city council meetings are open to the public. Find out when the next one is and bring up the topic for discussion. Or, go the extra mile and prepare a proposal to present at the meeting and challenge the city council to do something about dangerous intersections.
• Start a letter-writing campaign
• One letter to a city official can make an impact, but imagine what one hundred letters could do! Challenge fellow students and community members to write a letter to a city official. You can let them write their own letter or you can provide them with a template they can just sign and send! Make sure each letter addresses the most important details: what street needs to be changed, why it's important and urgent and how you want the city to do it.
• Get your friends involved
• By asking friends to help you out, you'll educate them at the same time. Who are the people in your range of influence? What daily actions or conversations can you have with them to get them thinking about safe driving?