Skip to main content

Road safety education in the spotlight

Road safety education is severely lacking in much of Europe. That is the finding of research by the European Transport Safety Commission (ETSC). According to this new report, there are vast differences in the amount of road safety education given to children across Europe, particularly at secondary school level. The research shows that road safety education is provided to children in primary education all over Europe. However, it is not given to youngsters in secondary education in 20% of the 36 European s
January 25, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Road safety education is severely lacking in much of Europe. That is the finding of research by the European Transport Safety Commission (ETSC). According to this new report, there are vast differences in the amount of road safety education given to children across Europe, particularly at secondary school level.


The research shows that road safety education is provided to children in primary education all over Europe. However, it is not given to youngsters in secondary education in 20% of the 36 European states and regions studied. In addition, the research shows that traffic safety and mobility education is only sparsely addressed in secondary education in most of the states and regions where it is given.

Few states and regions have a legal minimum requirement for the amount of road safety education that should be given at secondary school. And only 50% of states and regions that do offer road safety education set educational goals for what should be taught.

The risk of a road death increases sharply after 13 years of age, as children start to travel independently. For youngsters aged 15-19, road collisions are the main external cause of death. However, it is not known how effective current road safety education practices are at reducing deaths and injuries due to a lack of wide-ranging studies on the issue.

To help tackle this issue, a new event is being run in Madrid providing a focus on traffic education in Europe. This is being coordinated by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), the Flemish Foundation for Traffic Knowledge (VSV) and Fundación MAPFRE. The report has been written in collaboration with more than 30 road safety education experts from across Europe.

The Leveraging Education to Advance Road safety Now! (LEARN!) project aims to promote traffic safety and mobility education across Europe. It will boost the international community of road safety education experts and establish best practice guidelines for the design, testing, implementation and evaluation of road safety education activities and programmes.

The project has a website (%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external www.trafficsafetyeducation.eu false http://www.trafficsafetyeducation.eu/ false false%>), with resources for road safety education experts and the possibility to sign-up for updates on the latest news, projects, best practice examples and material related to traffic safety and mobility education.

Related Content

  • VIDEO: Slow down. Salmon crossing
    November 15, 2016
    Forget moose, ducks and other wildlife that cross a highway. It’s time for a new road sign - “Salmon Crossing” - as this video from the US state of Washington shows.

    It can happen when salmon are making their way from the Pacific Ocean to their spawning grounds up the same river where they were born. If the river is in flood, the fish can find themselves following the water roiling over a road.
  • Cast iron auction sales with IronPlanet
    January 6, 2017
    Online auction firm IronPlanet (IP) is a business with a truly global marketplace. It generated more than €450 million in 2011 via its worldwide used construction equipment sales. “Being pro-active is the key to what we do,” said managing director Tom Cornell. “Our software tells us who is looking [prior to online auctions] and who has bought similar equipment before and our online sales team rings them up and advises them about which online auctions may have equipment they are looking for. “This means a n
  • Cast iron auction sales with IronPlanet
    April 18, 2012
    Online auction firm IronPlanet (IP) is a business with a truly global marketplace. It generated more than €450 million in 2011 via its worldwide used construction equipment sales. “Being pro-active is the key to what we do,” said managing director Tom Cornell. “Our software tells us who is looking [prior to online auctions] and who has bought similar equipment before and our online sales team rings them up and advises them about which online auctions may have equipment they are looking for. “This means a n
  • LiuGong introduces new earthmoving machine range
    January 24, 2014
    LiuGong Machinery is now offering two new wheeled loaders. The 842III and 888III wheeled loaders are built for high efficiency and reliability according to the firm and these machines are also said to be easy to maintain and operate.