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

  • INTERMAT'S X-GMA Factor
    March 7, 2012
    XGMA excavators, such as the XG806 and XG808 mini excavators on show at Intermat 2012, have high quality Isuzu engines, configured with two fuel filters, oil-water separator and two-stage air filter for harsh environments.
    Read More
  • Napier University and RPS study looks at UK cycle lanes
    January 9, 2015
    A new UK report suggests local authorities should think twice about automatically incorporating cycle lanes in road design. David Arminas reports Environmental and social arguments for getting more people onto bicycles are well known. The theory is the more people cycling, the less traffic congestion and less air pollution from cars. Well-defined cycle lanes can encourage people who might otherwise be too nervous to take to a bicycle. But just how effective are cycle lanes for increasing the safety of
    Read More
  • Faster than a speeding cow – your local bus maybe?
    May 22, 2015
    A methane-powered bus has set a speed record for a regular city bus of nearly 124km/h at a test track in the UK, according to media reports. The bus, from the southern city of Reading, was converted to run on compressed methane from cow manure and was painted black and white like a Friesian cow. Mechanics removed the bus’s engine governor that restricted the vehicle’s speed to 90km/h. The bus then broke the record on the banked high-speed circuit at Millbrook Proving Ground, near the city of Bedford.
    Read More
  • Lighthouse Club construction charity event
    August 17, 2018
    The UK’s Lighthouse Club is holding a charity dinner in the Scottish city of Glasgow on the 23rd November 2018. The event will help to raise funds for the charity. The Lighthouse Club was set up to provide financial and emotional support to those in the construction community and their families who have suffered an injury or long term illness. The dinner will be held at Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel, starting at 6.30pm.
    Read More

Highlighted Content