A Denver teenager joined forces with the Colorado Department of Transportation to spread awareness of pedestrian safety among Colorado drivers after he was hit in January.

Cade Arvin, 15, was hit by a driver in early January while he was walking on a crosswalk across Colfax Avenue and hopes sharing his experience can help save the lives of other pedestrians in Colorado.

Arvin, his mother Rachel Hultin and CDOT delivered custom-made signs to nine businesses along South Pearl Street with the message “I’m Easy to Miss: Drivers, watch for pedestrians at night” written below a bright LED pedestrian symbol.

“I’m just here to help spread the message to make sure that drivers are more careful around pedestrians and to watch out and not be distracted or anything like that,” Arvin said. “… I do a lot of walking and I think it’s important that drivers know that pedestrians are out there and that they need to watch out for us and be careful of driving.”

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CDOT spokesperson Sam Cole said this is meant to remind drivers to be extra cautious at night when pedestrians are more difficult to see.

“What we’re trying to do in this one neighborhood here is really send a message to the rest of the state about the importance of being careful at night around pedestrians,” Cole said. “It’s really hard to see pedestrians at night. That’s why we need to be off our phones, we need to be alert, stay slower in these urban environments so that pedestrians stay safe.”

In 2021, there were 91 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes across Colorado, which accounted for more than 13% of all Colorado roadway fatalities. Cole said these fatalities are mostly from urban areas where pedestrians are present.

The businesses with these new neon signs in their windows include 5 Green Boxes, Etc. Eatery, Kaos Pizzeria, Love Dental, Melrose and Madison, One Ton Creative, Second Star to the Right Children’s Books, Stella’s Coffee and Wheelhouse Gifts, all along South Pearl Street in the Platte Park neighborhood.

Hultin, Arvin’s mother, said it’s important for drivers to hear about what it’s like to be hit by a distracted driver and that calling a car crash an accident makes it sound like it was unavoidable.

“A lot of times it is avoidable especially when people who are driving are more aware of their environment, and that includes other cars, people on bikes, people walking,” Hultin said. “That awareness is the number one thing we can do to reduce the type of serious injuries and crashes that happen.”

Arvin now has his own learner’s permit, and Hultin said being behind the wheel as the survivor of a car crash, he’s less interested in rushing to get his license. He was luckily not severely injured after being hit in January, and Hultin said the driver who hit him did the right thing by staying on scene.

“I’m grateful that he’s mindful in realizing that raising awareness makes a difference,” Hultin said. “We really want everyone to identify that it could be any of us, whether you’re the driver or the pedestrian.”

Hultin also happens to be the sustainable transportation director for Bicycle Colorado and heard about the potential of starting this campaign before her son was hit. She helped narrow down the slogan that would be on the signs in restaurants.

“A lot of times, it’s easy to victimize pedestrians, to tell them they can’t wear dark colors, that they can’t cross the street in certain places,” Hultin said. “A lot of times, there’s no safe place to cross the street, so what we really want to do is focus on driver behavior here.”

Arvin said this is a mission to make sure nobody else gets hit while they are walking and doing nothing wrong.

“I was doing everything right,” Arvin said. “It was all the driver’s fault.”

Riley Dorway, owner of Kaos Pizzeria, said participating in this campaign was a no-brainer for his business, which is located in a pedestrian-heavy area of town. Dorway said many of his employees bike or walk to work and that a large portion of his guests are pedestrians too.

“You do see cars racing by here at night,” Dorway said. “We don’t have the luxury of the street lamps right out front of us either… We’re just happy to be able to be a part of it and share some window space for a cause that will help support the community.”