Communicating road safety to the young pedestrian : evaluation of road safety resource material for infants schools : TARU 4/78

This is the second of two reports. The first, an exploratory research programme on communicating road safety information to the young pedestrian, indicated a need for road safety resource material which took into account the serious handicaps of children aged under eight years in the traffic environment. Production of such material began in December, 1976. The resulting road safety kit, entitled "Road Safety and Me", was distributed to forty schools in the Sydney Metropolitan Area, for appraisal by teachers in July, 1977. In addition, behavioural scientists from the Traffic Accident Research Unit assessed the manner in which teachers used the material. The road safety kit was enthusiastically received by teachers, some of whom suggested some technical modification of the kit prior to general distribution. Behavioural scientists noted that some teachers did not use the resource material to facilitate greater understanding of the traffic environment, nor did they appear to understand the importance of promoting physical skills as a means of increasing a child's ability to cope in the traffic environment. This indicated that attention should be given to further teacher training so that maximum pupil benefit may be obtained from the road safety resource material.