LEARN! Manual Example #10.4

This example shows how expansive themes are used in the Netherlands to incorporate traffic safety and mobility education in other subjects, themes or programmes.

Related Step

Design

Age Group

12 to 13 year olds

Expansive Themes. Schools could be reluctant to deliver a specific programme on traffic safety and mobility education, but may be more willing if such material was presented in the context of another theme. You may therefore want to consider them when designing and developing your activity.

S.U.I.T. is an educational activity that focuses on the theme of resilience to discuss traffic safety and mobility with pupils in the first year of secondary education. The S.U.I.T. project consists of three lessons: resilience & peer pressure, resilience & self-confidence, and resilience & leaving the group.

The lesson on resilience & peer pressure aims, among other things, to teach pupils to recognise and deal with peer pressure, and how to say ‘no’. This is done using the theme of ‘visibility in traffic’, in which the risks of having poor or no lights and not using reflective equipment as both cyclist and pedestrian are discussed.

The lesson on resilience & self-confidence aims to teach the pupils, among other things, to recognise their gut feelings and to trust their instinct and intuition when it comes to whether something is responsible or not, as well as knowing when to trust another person and when not. This is done using the theme of ‘cycling without phone’, in which the risks of distractions from mobile phone use in traffic are discussed.

The lesson on resilience & leaving the group aims to teach the pupils to make their own choices when it comes to behaviour and intended behaviour, to consciously leave a group, and to take responsibility for situations. This is done using the theme of ‘blind spots’, in which the risks of blind spots, notably those of heavy duty vehicles, are discussed. The S.U.I.T. project received the maximum scores in all but one category when assessed by Dutch knowledge institute CROW using its Education Checklist.


More Information

Trafficskills (n.d.), S.U.I.T. Stand Up In Traffic.

CROW (2021), Beoordeling S.U.I.T. Stand Up In Traffic.

Key Principle #11 Example: Traffic Education Checklist

CROW’s Education Checklist


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