Initiative details
According to traffic accident statistics in Austria, distraction is the main cause of accidents for around a third of accidents. The long-term theme of the State of Styria / Traffic Department entitled “Augen auf die Straße - Attention on the Road” is aimed at all road users and would like to point out the risk of distraction in road traffic.
We, the GROSSE SCHÜTZEN KLEINE association, have now developed special projects for children with the aim of:
*that they are aware of how important attention is and how dangerous distraction can be in traffic
*that no one can be 100 percent attentive all the time
*that they can also recognize whether the other road user is paying attention and, in an emergency, can prevent an accident with their own forgiving attention
We, the GROSSE SCHÜTZEN KLEINE association, have now developed special projects for children with the aim of:
*that they are aware of how important attention is and how dangerous distraction can be in traffic
*that no one can be 100 percent attentive all the time
*that they can also recognize whether the other road user is paying attention and, in an emergency, can prevent an accident with their own forgiving attention
Initiative date
Who was/is your target audience?
Children 0-16
Topic
Education in school or in community organizations
Organisation details
GROSSE SCHUETZEN KLEINE Safe Kids Austria
Association
Austria
Graz - Styria
Contact name
Peter Spitzer
Telephone number
+4331638513398
peter.spitzer@uniklinikum.kages.at
Website link
Project activities
Please describe the project activities you carried/are carrying out and the time period over which these were implemented.
The basis for the GROSSE SCHÜTZEN KLEINE projects are accident analyzes in the Research Center for Childhood Accidents at the University Clinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery Graz.
Project 1: Distraction as the number 1 accident factor. Report 2021
Project 2: The accident with Bus & Bim. Report 2022
Project 3: Accidents in the blind spot and due to obstructed visibility. Report 2023
Project 1: Attention on the road – ready, set, go
Period: Development autumn 2020 and spring 2021
Press conference: May 2021
Implementation: from May 2021 to today
Project target group: Students aged 7 to 12
Distribution target group: teachers, traffic education teachers
Distribution: State of Styria - Transport, Education Directorate of Styria - Schools, Pedagogical University - Teacher training and teacher advanced training
Project content: Visual attention - checking traffic situations / Acoustic attention - recognizing and differentiating traffic noises / Multitasking challenge - text comprehension and skill course
Project documents: Project manual with specialist information and project information, PPT with integrated hyperlinks for implementation in the class
Project 2: Attention on the road – Safe Steps
Period: Development autumn 2021 and spring 2022
Press conference: March 2022
Implementation: from March 2022 to today
Project target group: Students aged 7 to 12
Distribution target group: teachers, traffic education teachers
Distribution: State of Styria - Transport, Styria Education Directorate - Schools, Pedagogical University - Teacher training and teacher advanced training
Project content: Exercises as a video textbook on body control and sure-footed movement in traffic as a pedestrian and with a scooter and bicycle
Project 3: Eyes on the road – blind spot
Period: Development summer 2022
Press conference: September 2022
Implementation: from September 2022
Project target group: Students aged 7 to 15
Distribution target group: teachers, traffic education teachers
Distribution: State of Styria - Transport, Styria Education Directorate - Schools, Pedagogical University - Teacher training and teacher advanced training
Project content: Seeing does not mean being seen at the same time.
Project 1: Distraction as the number 1 accident factor. Report 2021
Project 2: The accident with Bus & Bim. Report 2022
Project 3: Accidents in the blind spot and due to obstructed visibility. Report 2023
Project 1: Attention on the road – ready, set, go
Period: Development autumn 2020 and spring 2021
Press conference: May 2021
Implementation: from May 2021 to today
Project target group: Students aged 7 to 12
Distribution target group: teachers, traffic education teachers
Distribution: State of Styria - Transport, Education Directorate of Styria - Schools, Pedagogical University - Teacher training and teacher advanced training
Project content: Visual attention - checking traffic situations / Acoustic attention - recognizing and differentiating traffic noises / Multitasking challenge - text comprehension and skill course
Project documents: Project manual with specialist information and project information, PPT with integrated hyperlinks for implementation in the class
Project 2: Attention on the road – Safe Steps
Period: Development autumn 2021 and spring 2022
Press conference: March 2022
Implementation: from March 2022 to today
Project target group: Students aged 7 to 12
Distribution target group: teachers, traffic education teachers
Distribution: State of Styria - Transport, Styria Education Directorate - Schools, Pedagogical University - Teacher training and teacher advanced training
Project content: Exercises as a video textbook on body control and sure-footed movement in traffic as a pedestrian and with a scooter and bicycle
Project 3: Eyes on the road – blind spot
Period: Development summer 2022
Press conference: September 2022
Implementation: from September 2022
Project target group: Students aged 7 to 15
Distribution target group: teachers, traffic education teachers
Distribution: State of Styria - Transport, Styria Education Directorate - Schools, Pedagogical University - Teacher training and teacher advanced training
Project content: Seeing does not mean being seen at the same time.
In terms of implementation, what worked well and what challenges did you need to overcome?
The production of the projects and the design of the content were based on accident research. This is important so that the problem areas can be targeted.
When distributing the project, accompaniment - a mentoring program is important so that the teachers can implement it into traffic education lessons. This is the biggest challenge – even in the next months. With support from the state of Styria - Traffic Safety Dept., this mentoring program and the workshops with the Safe Kids staff are possible.
When distributing the project, accompaniment - a mentoring program is important so that the teachers can implement it into traffic education lessons. This is the biggest challenge – even in the next months. With support from the state of Styria - Traffic Safety Dept., this mentoring program and the workshops with the Safe Kids staff are possible.
If you work together with external partners, list the most important partners and briefly describe their role.
Financial support for these projects comes from the State of Styria / Transport Department. As part of its long-standing focus on “Eyes on the Street” (Link:), it is possible to apply for financial support for suitable projects.
The Styrian Education Directorate and the Styrian University of Education also play an important role, as teachers can be reached through training and further education and can be informed and trained about these projects.
The Styrian Education Directorate and the Styrian University of Education also play an important role, as teachers can be reached through training and further education and can be informed and trained about these projects.
Evaluation
Please summarise how you have evaluated the initiative’s impact (e.g. social media reach, survey, feedback forms, statistics).
The impact on the number of accidents cannot be measured directly due to the current short duration. What we measured, however, is the number of downloads of the project documents and the number of visitors to the eLearning homepage. The number of workshops is also recorded.
What has been the effect of the activities?
In each school year - currently the third phase - we emailed around 400 eligible schools (around 40,000 students) with the workshop program in the state of Styria. Within the return deadline, more than 100 schools had registered their interest yearly.
We can visit 15 schools with the workshops per school year
The elearning site is visited 5,000 times per calendar year
Since the project started, the documents have been downloaded 750 times.
Every year we reach 60 traffic education teachers in advanced training.
We can visit 15 schools with the workshops per school year
The elearning site is visited 5,000 times per calendar year
Since the project started, the documents have been downloaded 750 times.
Every year we reach 60 traffic education teachers in advanced training.
Please briefly explain why your initiative is a good example of improving road safety.
The content of the traffic education projects is based on findings from accident research. The accidents analyzed occurred where the project is being implemented. The problem with traffic education programs is therefore addressed directly.
Through the mentoring program, the project is presented to schools, the documents remain with the teachers and this massively supports their implementation in traffic education lessons.
Through the mentoring program, the project is presented to schools, the documents remain with the teachers and this massively supports their implementation in traffic education lessons.
How have you shared information about your project and its results?
The project was presented in the German-speaking working group on child safety (Austria, Germany, Switzerland). In addition, information is published on the central homepage for traffic education in Austria of the Federal Ministry of Education.