A pedestrian alert system and method that acts in two alternative manners: (1) an individual device is configured to “listen” for an audible alert (over ambient noise) or “look” for a visual alert issued by the driver of a vehicle, or the vehicle itself, in advance of an impending impact event and, upon detecting such audible or visual alert, issue a local alert to a pedestrian, cyclist, scooter rider, skateboarder, or other vulnerable road user wearing the individual device; and (2) upon the automated detection of an impending impact event by a vehicle, the vehicle is configured to automatically emit an audible and/or non-audible signal that is detected by the individual device associated with the pedestrian, cyclist, scooter rider, skateboarder, or other vulnerable road user and acted upon to locally alert the pedestrian, cyclist, scooter rider, skateboarder, or other vulnerable road user of the impending impact event.