Upon noticing that young people are one of the groups most affected by traffic accidents, 35 Spanish high school students decided to address primary school pupils and educate them to have a better road safety consciousness.
The ideas
The students started this project with some basic questions: Why are there traffic accidents? What can we do to reduce or prevent them? The proposed strategy focused on reflection, training and practical application. The students’ goal was to reach as many people as possible with messages concerning safe and sustainable mobility. They considered it essential to promote respect and caution among road users, and towards the environment. Students decided to design an awareness campaign for their school, featuring sustainable mobility posters for display in the school lobby and activities with young children - one of the groups most affected by traffic accidents, especially as pedestrians.
The initiatives
Three small student groups were created to prepare theoretical and practical courses for primary school students. Each group targeted a specific road safety issue. The first group visited primary schools to talk about pedestrian safety, so that the pupils could be safer while walking on the street. Another group decided to work with primary school pupils on another vital aspect of road safety: the use of seatbelts. The third group organized a Puppetry and Mobility activity, which was aimed at 7-year-old pupils and dealt with space, colors, sounds and pollution. The students worked on different values, including respect for others and respect for the environment (their school, their city and nature). They promoted the specific values of safe mobility: self-awareness, self-protection and prevention and spread a message of understanding, tolerance and respect. The project also enabled interaction between the three main risk groups: children, young adults and seniors. The participating students also improved their audiovisual language and communication skills and their ability to work in groups.
