Primary Education

Traffic safety and mobility education is given at primary schools in all European states. However, how this education is given to children differs widely across Europe. The maps below provide an overview of how states differ with regards to several topics, including lesson formats, educational goals and  exams.


Dedicated Subject

Traffic safety and mobility education is not a dedicated subject at primary schools in the majority (72%) of states in Europe.


Teaching Hours

A slighter larger majority of states (78%) do not mandate a minimum number of teaching hours by law.

Requirement

The minimum number of teaching hours required by law varies significantly between the states.

In the Czech Republic children receive 20 hours of traffic safety education per year and in Bosnia Herzegovina’s Republic of Srpska 23 hours, while in Hungary this is 6 lessons of 45 minutes per year. In Greece, the number of hours varies for the different grades.

No Requirement

In states where there is no minimum hour requirement, the number of teaching hours also varies widely, both between states as well as within states. In the Netherlands children receive roughly 45 minutes of road safety education each week. Teachers in Lithuania dedicate 40 hours per year, teachers in Slovenia 25 hours, and teachers in Malta 10 to 20 hours.

In Belgium, Sweden and Denmark there is great variation between the schools, as is the case in Portugal and Poland where the teachers themselves decide how much time is spent on traffic safety and mobility education. Furthermore, in Norway, Estonia and Kosovo it was not possible to estimate the amount of teaching hours, as road safety education is integrated in other subjects.


Lesson Format

The lessons across Europe contain both theoretical and practical aspects in all states, except for Albania, Kosovo, Lithuania and Portugal where the lessons are only theoretical.


Educational Goals

Nearly two-thirds of the states set educational goals.

In general, these goals follow the lessons that the children receive all across Europe.

These lessons can be summarised in two categories:

  1. Learning about traffic rules;
  2. Understanding how to behave safely on the road.


    Exams

    While exams are an important tool to verify that the established educational objectives are met, they are only taken in one third of the European states.


    More information on the status of traffic safety and mobility education at primary schools in Europe is available in the LEARN! report.

    All maps were created using mapchart.net