INFORMATIVE SPEECH

PLANNING WORKSHEET

TOPIC | Pedestrian Crossings

General Purpose | The purpose of my speech is to inform my audience about Pelican Crossings & HAWK Crossings

Specific Purpose | After listening to my presentation, the audience will learn about the safety of improved traffic crossings

PRESENTATION SUMMARY

  1. Introduction

    a) ATTENTION | Did you know that something as simple as updating the pedestrian crossings can reduce pedestrian accidents by almost 60% in the US?

    b) CREDIBILITY STATEMENT | That’s not just some fact I made up, that was studied in Pheonix, AZ with the installation of the new HAWK signals.

    c) THESIS AND PREVIEW | Zebra crossings (what’s currently in use at most places in the US) are outdated and can do with some modernization. The zebra crossings work in small, low traffic areas with good visibility, but not much else. Pelican crossings, like you’ve seen around the place in Ireland, accommodate the disabled with sound & direction indicators for the blind and tactile indicators for the deaf, as well as forcing traffic to stop.

    d) NEED TO KNOW/INFORMATION HUNGER | You might be asking why you should know about pedestrian crossings, but the simple answer is, you like to know you can cross the road safely, and not play frogger in the street?

  2. Body

    a) Main Points:

    • Pelican Crossings are beneficial to the disabled
    • HAWK & Pelican crossings both are safer than Zebra crossings
    • HAWK & Pelican crossings both have indicators for both traffic and pedestrians.

    b) Supporting Material:

    • A news report from ABC News in Pheonix Arizona
    • A UK Road Journal
    • The CDC

    c) Identify Transitions:

    • Starting with the best feature
    • Additionally
    • This is possible due to
    • This is why I believe it to be necessary

  3. Conclusion:

    a) RESTATE THESIS | This is why I believe it to be necessary to modernize our pedestrian crossings in the U.S., and switch to either Pelican or HAWK signals.

    b) CLINCHER | Because frankly, 7,500 deaths annually is too many lives to be losing over something as simple as a pedestrian crossing.

  4. References:

    Blasius, M. (2021, July 10). How hawk beacons save pedestrians’ lives. ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix (KNXV). https://www.abc15.com/news/operation-safe-roads/how-hawk-beacons-save-pedestrians-lives

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, March 13). Pedestrian and overall road traffic crash deaths - United States and 27 other high-income countries, 2013–2022. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7408a2.htm#:~:text=More%20than%2040%2C000%20lives%20are,in%2041%20years%20(1)

    Green man at last. Roads.org.uk. (n.d.). https://www.roads.org.uk/articles/pedestrian-crossings/green-man-last