We have completed one of the largest road safety educational projects. The project was dedicated to children aged 10+, at the beginning of the bicycle card course*, under the new guidelines of the Minister of Education. Project cost: 12,500 euros.
We divided the project into 5 phases: training for teachers, practical theory lessons, live road traffic lessons, bicycle servicing lessons, report to the Minister of Education and the Minister of Infrastructure. We used photos of intersections around schools for practical theory lessons. We took 90 photos with a drone. Each child had the opportunity to remove and install an inner tube, remove and install a chain. The bike servicing lesson received the most positive ratings. BUT, in second place, the most positive reactions from children were given to photos of intersections near the school and showing the traffic rules there.
We will not describe how the lessons went, because you can imagine it. The observations are interesting.
Results.
Children observe their surroundings perfectly and are able to detect incorrect behavior of other road users. Our research shows that children:
» they expect more practice than theory
» expect 0-1 knowledge
» they expect examples from their immediate surroundings
» were surprised by the number of signs surrounding them
» they do not receive support from adults in the field of road safety, including parents
» experience aggression in road traffic from adult road users, both drivers and cyclists
The spot
What surprised us was the reaction to the spot "Others also make mistakes." The spot was produced by the National Road Safety Council under the license of the New Zealand spot. Link to the original spot.
» ¾ of the children were unable to determine whether the accident was real or an advertisement,
» ½ classes of all schools: a question was asked when "red hair" got out of the car, why he didn't take the child,
» ¾ of the children thought that the boy from the movie really died,
» ¼ of classes in all schools: a question was asked why they were talking to each other in the middle of the intersection,
» 100% of children recorded the speed of the silver car as 120 km/h,
» 100% of children knew that it was very fast, but at the same time they did not know what "very fast" meant,
» 90% of children were unable to connect speed with the effect of the situation shown in the spot.
There is a high probability that children perceive road traffic the same way they perceive a spot. Due to lack of life experience and lack of physics lessons, they are unable to analyze the risk, and adults are also unable to do so. Children live in two planes, real and virtual, which begin to overlap. The children watched the spot like many other videos on YouTube or TikTok. They didn't see the difference between the commercial and the videos they watch online, which are usually recordings of real events [a cat fell off the table, someone fell down]. If children are explained what they have seen, of course an adult must also want to see it, then children can analyze it. We had to tell the kids what was and wasn't real in this movie.
*In Poland, children aged 10+ must have a bicycle driving license to be able to ride a bicycle without parental assistance. Unfortunately, our research shows that only 1/4 of children take the exam. Rest? The rest drive without licenses. This is a problem because you cannot legally take children on a bike ride on public roads. Pack them up and take them to the forest - yes, they can drive there without a license. If they do not have a license, they must either push the bike, carry the bike on their back, or take the bike to the forest by car.
Summary.
Results: Products
- 10 lessons in the form of a methodological manual for road safety teachers
- 10 sets of 20 exam questions in an analog format for road traffic safety teachers
- 7 hours of training for road safety teachers
- 144 road safety lessons
- 1 evaluation in which 1,160 people participated
- 1 evaluation report addressed to public administration bodies that influence the formula of road safety lessons
- 90 aerial photos for theory lessons
- 36 multimedia presentations for theory lessons
Results: Numbers
- 3,312 students learned how to service bicycles
- 3,312 students gained knowledge on right-of-way
- 3,312 students took part in live traffic classes
- 16 teachers gained methodological knowledge in the field of road traffic - they obtained professional and substantively proven sets for examining students for a bicycle license
Target Audience
Images
