LEARN! Manual Example #22
This example shows what methods the Prevenção Rodoviária Portuguesa (PRP) used to evaluate their “Be Seen” project and what results they found.
Related Step
Evaluation
Age Group
Pupils: 6-14
Students and persons of 15 years and older
Background to the “Be Seen” project
The “Be Seen” project, developed by Prevenção Rodoviária Portuguesa (PRP), consists of a set of actions, including educational activities, aimed at promoting the use of reflective material by pedestrians during periods of poor visibility, and also to raise drivers’ awareness of the problem of pedestrians being run over. It aims to contribute to changes in behaviour, in order to reduce the risk of being run over at night, inside and outside urban areas. The project focuses specifically on children (between the ages of 6 and 14) and adults over 65 as the target groups that are most at risk.
The project’s activities include, among other things, road shows at schools and public events where demonstrations and simulations are carried out on the use of reflective material through the use of dark rooms. For children up to 14 years old, several activities were developed, to be explored together with their teachers in the classroom, including ‘true or false’ activities, identification of correct and incorrect behaviours, completing sentences, painting, and a virtual simulator which allows for comparing visibility distances with and without reflective material.
For students aged 15 years and older, additional content was made available for teachers, for example on reflection and refraction of light, examples of reflective material and how it works, and characteristics of the reflective vest. (In addition to students in schools and universities, the activity was also provided outside of schools, for example during events organised by PRP and therefore also targeted persons aged 15 years and older not in formal education (see example 23).)
Teachers were encouraged to explore these contents in physics and chemistry classes. (For more information on incorporating traffic safety and mobility education as part of other subjects, see LEARN! Key Principle #14 on interdisciplinary material.)
Evaluation design
The evaluation of the “Be Seen” project was carried out separately for children up to 14 years of age and for persons aged 15 years and older. For this purpose, a separate survey was developed for each group (see example 23 for the surveys), which contained questions on, among other aspects, the perception of the importance of using reflective material in conditions of reduced visibility, ownership of reflective material aswell as habits and intentions to use it.
The surveys were first conducted before the implementation of the project (baseline measurement) in October and November 2015. Both digital (online) and paper versions of the survey were used. The paper versions were used for the younger pupils, with the youngest pupils also being supported by their teachers when filling out the questionnaires. The digital online questionnaires were used to survey the older target group.
The surveys were then conducted again after the implementation of the project (post-activity measurement) in April 2016. The outcome of the activity was assessed through the comparison of the results and variables studied in the questionnaires before and after the implementation of the campaign.
Results for children up to 14 years of age
The results of the evaluation showed that the project had a positive impact on the perceptions of using reflective material: the percentage of children who reported that it is normal to wear reflective clothing or accessories when walking increased from 21% before the campaign to 41% after the campaign. There was also an increase from 68% to 86% in the percentage of children who stated it was possible for them to use reflective clothing or accessories, and the percentage of children who said they were going try to use reflective material when walking increased from 63% to 74%. Furthermore, there were significant increases in the percentages of children who consider that reflective material should be used (from 72% to 84%) and who consider wearing clothes or reflective accessories is good (from 80% to 94%) and safe (from 86% to 96%). The analysis showed that these differences were statistically significant.
Results for persons aged 15 years and older
The questionnaire to assess the outcome of the project for persons aged 15 years and older included 59 questions divided into three parts.
For the first part of the evaluation, 51 questions were grouped into questions on intention, previous behaviour, attitude, subjective norms and perception of behavioural control, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour.1 Although there was no significant difference in the perception of behavioural control and previous behaviour, the results of the evaluation showed that the project had a significant impact on the intention to use reflective material in the three months following the activity, in the individual’s perception of the advantages and disadvantages, the consequences in relation to the reflective material use, and in the perception of the social pressure that individuals feel to use reflective material.
The second part of the survey included a question based on the Trans-theoretical Model of Behaviour Change2, with the possible answers graded according to the five phases of change that people go through when they decide to change their behaviour. The five phases range from not even thinking about any change in behaviour, to the phase in which they successfully maintain that change. The results of the evaluation found that the project had a statistically significant effect on participants. The number of persons that did not consider using reflective material (pre-contemplation) and those who had been thinking about using it (contemplation) decreased, while the number of persons who indicated they would start using it soon (preparation) and especially the number of persons that indicated they now use reflective material regularly (action) increased. However, there was a slight decrease in the number of persons who indicated they had used reflective material always or almost always over the previous six months (maintenance).
The third part of the survey included demographic questions (gender, age, qualifications) as well as questions related to the means of transport used and travel as a pedestrian (urban/rural roads, mode and travel time) in particular.
Final Remarks
Having used baseline and post-activity measurements in the design of the evaluation, a comparison between the results of the surveys showed that the “Be Seen” project led to positive results for both children under the age of 14 years and older. Bearing in mind that the levels of use of reflective material are still low, the evaluation also showed that further activities with the aim of promoting their use should be developed and implemented.
The problem analysis, setting the objectives and the theory of change for the Be Seen project was presented during the LEARN! Manual Webinar.
The evaluation of the Be Seen project was presented in more detail during the 2025 European Traffic Education Seminar.
More Information
LEARN! Manual Example #23 shows the surveys used during the evaluation of the “Be Seen” project.