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SAFELY TO SCHOOL: A STUDY OF SAFER ROUTES TO SCHOOL IN THE CLASSROOM
CHAPTER TWO Setting the context: key issues from the literature
Context
2.1 To provide a context for our study on Safer Routes To School (SRTS), this chapter draws together findings from previously published literature on road safety for young people, measures to promote safer travel and related issues.
Statistics on young people road safety
2.2 A range of sources has demonstrated the need for measures to promote safer routes to school and general road safety for young people. The Scottish Executive statistics (2002) reveal that in 2001 there were 1,486 child (0-15) pedestrian accidents in Scotland, of which 353 were serious or fatal (14 fatal). There were also 309 child cyclist accidents, of which 56 were serious or fatal (4 fatal).
2.3 The Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) leaflet Road Safety Education: A Strategy for Scotland (2002) provides details of a national strategy for road safety education (RSE) for all schools in Scotland. It notes that the Annual Report of the Registrar General for Scotland (2000) showed that 51 people in the 0-19 age group died following Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) in that year, and that road traffic accidents cause the majority of accidental deaths in that age group. Also 'more child pedestrians in Scotland, per head of population, are killed or seriously injured compared to the rest of the UK'.
2.4 The Annual Report of the Registrar General for Scotland (2000) also showed that casualty rates for child pedestrians increase with age, with 12-15 year olds being the most likely to be involved in road accidents. Male pedestrians are more at risk than females. In the 5-11 age group, twice as many boys as girls are likely to be killed or seriously injured. Boys are still more at risk in the 12-15 age group, although the difference between the sexes is less evident.
2.5 Road accident statistics and recent research have highlighted the younger teenage group as particularly at risk of being involved in serious pedestrian accidents (Sawyer, 1998). Sawyer also found gender differences in young teenagers' pedestrian behaviours, with males more likely to take 'extreme risks'. Although boys constituted the majority of road accident casualties at all ages, Sawyer states that 'accident statistics show that the difference between boys and girls is narrowest during their early teenage years'.
2.6 The Annual Report of the Registrar General for Scotland (2000) reveals that travelling to, and particularly from, school is a crucial time for road safety with the peak time for child casualties being weekdays, from 3 pm to 5 pm, at the end of the school day, and Friday being the peak day.
2.7 Social disadvantage has also been shown to be a factor with child pedestrians in the lowest socio-economic group being over 4 times more likely to be killed than those in the highest socio-economic group. Ethnicity is another factor associated with accidents: children from ethnic minority groups are more at risk of being injured in an accident than other groups (White et al, 2000).
Understanding the causes of accidents and factors influencing safer travel to school
2.8 The literature identifies two major causes of travel-related accidents (accident aetiology) involving young people: children affected by multiple social disadvantage are significantly more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents; and complex social and environmental factors at neighbourhood level also affect the level of risk.
2.9 Studies reveal that across the UK and Europe certain groups appear to be more at risk of an accident involving traffic. Assaily (1997) examined research and statistical literature from various countries (e.g. Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands) dealing with child pedestrian accidents, and drew attention to the similarities of accident aetiology in the various countries. The groups which emerge most at risk are: the 5-9 year olds, the 10-14 year olds, and aged persons; teenage males; and those classified as being of lower socio-economic status. There were also similarities across European countries in how accidents involving young people happened, with the most common including dashing out into roads and crossing from behind parked cars. The visual search ability of the individual child was also found to play a role.
The importance of social disadvantage
2.10 Bagley (1992) argues that the study of injuries to child pedestrians and cyclists in urban contexts should include the study of complex elements interacting within a total environment. This complexity, and the need for further research, is illustrated from a study of 400 child victims in an urban, ecological study, and of 67 individually-studied child victims and controls. Bagley states that the individual vulnerability of some children puts them at high risk when they live in certain types of urban neighbourhood. The conclusion is that children involved in road traffic accidents 'more often came from lower-class families, families with a single parent and economically poor families'. The study 'has also shown the degree to which these child victims are likely to be concentrated in areas of a city marked by multiple social disadvantage'.
2.11 Graham (2002) researching road safety and social inclusion points out that:
Within Scotland there are significant variations in the incidence of injury and death which are related to a range of socio-economic factors. Membership of a socially-excluded group, i.e. one which does not have the same access to employment, education, good housing, transport and amenities, increases the likelihood of being involved in some form of road accident.
2.12 He therefore recommends including Road Safety Units as partners in Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs), increasing links between agencies, increasing community involvement in road safety measures and planning, and more training and development support for Road Safety Units and relevant others.
2.13 White et al (2000) reviewed the literature on road accidents and children living in disadvantaged areas. They note that:
During 1997 there were 3,795 child casualties (aged 0-15 years) resulting from road accidents in Scotland, and of these 1,892 were child pedestrian casualties accounting for 46% of pedestrian casualties of all ages…Child pedestrian casualty rates in Scotland were significantly higher than those in England and Wales, 53% higher for fatal and serious casualties.
2.14 Their review concluded that there was an increased risk of child casualties in road accidents in disadvantaged areas.
Accidents involving public transport
2.15 Children's behaviour on and around school buses has also been studied as a factor concerning safer routes to school. Research by Buchanan (2002) on child accidents on route to and from school in Scotland aimed to establish the extent of the problem of child pedestrian casualties related to the bus journey to or from school during 1999-2000. The main findings indicated that a small but significant proportion of accidents involved a bus, either as a hitting vehicle or as a vehicle present at the location of the accident. In these accidents 4 children were killed and 53 were seriously injured. One hundred and eleven children were slightly injured. Buchanan also found that children (particularly boys) in the age group 11-14 were most vulnerable, and that the majority of casualties occur on the journey home from school as children alight from buses at the non-school end of the journey, with most children 'running at the time of the accident'. Buchanan (2002) states that 'the most typical casualty would, therefore, be a boy aged 11-14 injured running across a road having alighted from a local service bus on the way home from school'.
Parental ability to assess children's pedestrian/traffic skills
2.16 While not strictly a factor in its own right, parent's ability to assess their child's pedestrian skills can contribute to the overall risk context. Dunne et al (1992) reiterate that pedestrian injuries remain the most common cause of death from trauma for young school-age children. Their study was based on the hypothesis that parents' abilities to accurately assess their children's street-crossing skills vary with the crossing and the age of the children, being less accurate for younger children. Children at three developmental levels (aged 5-6, 7-8, and 9-10 years) and their parents were evaluated on four street-crossing tests and a control vocabulary test. For each test, children's answers were compared to parents' estimates of their children's performance. Parents overestimated the abilities of their 5- to 6-year-olds on all four tests (p<.01). Parents overestimated the abilities of 7- to 8-year-olds on two of the tests (p<.05) and parents accurately assessed the abilities of the 9- to 10-year-olds. On the vocabulary test, parents overestimated their children's performance at all age levels (p<.01). The results support the hypothesis and indicate that parents' expectations for their children's pedestrian skills are least accurate for 5- and 6-year-olds, with the mismatch decreasing as the children get older. Therefore, inaccurate expectations of children's pedestrian skills may be a useful target for injury prevention programs.
Reducing road accidents
2.17 Concern over road accident statistics has led to a policy response from the Scottish Executive, and numerous initiatives. The Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) has launched Road Safety Education: A Strategy for Scotland. At local authority level, an allocation has been made so that authorities might make improvements to the physical environment, for instance by installing new crossings, creating new footpaths and cycle ways, in order to encourage more children to walk or cycle to school. The Safer Routes to School initiative sits within this general aim of integrated transport and also in a context in which the percentage of children who walk to school has declined rapidly since 1972.
2.18 The literature on attempts to reduce road accidents involving children and young people generally includes three main approaches: environmental and engineering measures, psychologically-based skills training approaches, and education initiatives.
Environmental and engineering measures
2.19 Burns et al (2002) looked at the effects of a 20mph speed reduction initiative in Scotland. They found that the introduction of 20mph speed limits had the effect of reducing average traffic speed, and reducing both the number and severity of recorded accidents.
2.20 Another Scottish study (Ross Silcock Limited, 1999) examined the impact of traffic calming schemes, and found that such measures not only had the potential to reduce the speed of traffic but also, where speeds had been noticeably reduced, to improve perceptions of safety for cyclists and pedestrians. This in turn led to children being allowed to play out, walk to school and cycle more.
2.21 A study by Sharples and Fletcher (2001) that examined pedestrian perceptions of road crossing facilities revealed that crossings were unlikely on their own to promote greater use of walking and active travel. Both users and non-users were generally satisfied with what crossings were provided locally and the main reasons for using crossings were 'convenience', or they were 'on their route', or 'safety'.
2.22 The literature also indicates the importance of including young people's opinions in road safety developments. For example, Tonucci and Rissotto (2001) first examined the characteristics of the degradation of the urban environment in Italy and the costs that this entailed for children's development, in particular as far as play experience and autonomous mobility are concerned. They reveal how children's participation experiences can lead to the acquisition of a fresh sensitivity and competence by city administrators and technicians. They found that children possessed the capacity to identify problems relating to road safety as they emerge, and to propose solutions that were often innovative and useful.
Psychological-based skills training approaches
2.23 The literature also identifies the role developmental psychology and training approaches can have in modifying children and young people's behaviour concerning pedestrian safety.
2.24 Cross et al (2000) evaluated the Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention Project (CPIPP) involving 1,603 children aged 6-9 years. The children were each assigned to one of three groups: high intervention (educational, community and environmental interventions); moderate intervention (education only); and comparison (usual road safety education). They found that:
While several methodological limitations may have influenced the study outcomes, these data nonetheless indicate that in the study sample the CPIPP educational intervention decelerated the natural increase in children's pedestrian-related risk behaviour.
2.25 Demetre (1997) also focused on applying developmental psychology to Children's Road Safety. This study reviewed the contributions of developmental psychology to understanding children's vulnerability as road users, and to the formulation and assessment of appropriate intervention programmes. Problems and insights encountered by attempts to apply developmental psychology are illustrated with reference to studies of children's errors in selecting an unoccluded road-crossing location. On the basis of these studies Demetre argued that evidence concerning developmental sequences for specific road user abilities might yield important clues to intervention, provided that 'the temptation to infer an invariant "normal" pattern to development is resisted'.
2.26 As with many attempts to impact on risk and health behaviours, interventions meet with limited success. As previously noted, the literature stresses that pedestrian injuries are a complex problem for which no single intervention will be completely effective. For example, Rivara et al (1991) highlight this point with their evaluation of the effectiveness of a school training program based on developmental psychology. The programme targeted US public school students in grades K to 4 with an eight session training programme by a single teacher using cross-age teaching, videotape feedback, and parent-child activity workbooks. Rivara et al conclude that pedestrian skills of children can be improved but that such a programme must be part of a broader effort if pedestrian injuries are to decrease.
2.27 Developmental skills training has also been used to attempt to improve children's skills in planning safer routes to school. For example, Thomson (1997) identified deficiencies in young children's route planning strategies in traffic contexts and reviewed intervention programmes relating to this ability (including those tailored for use with groups of young children, and for use by parents from socio-economically deprived areas of Glasgow). Evidence concerning age-related changes was found that revealed that only a small proportion of children aged 5 years were able to construct safe routes to a destination, with the proportion increasing steadily through the middle childhood years. Thomson found that rigorous evaluations of programmes using pre-test/post-test comparisons and no-treatment controls demonstrated that intervention programmes could dramatically improve 5-year-olds' abilities concerning route planning strategies.
Road Safety Education
2.28 Distinct from approaches based on developing specific social psychological behaviour skills, some road safety education uses broader education inputs that aim to improve knowledge and promote informed decision-making.
2.29 A study by Graham et al (2000) of Road Safety Education (RSE) in the Scottish curriculum found that:
- Road safety education depends on the commitment of the headteacher and the class teacher.
- Good examples were identified, but RSE is often repetitive and non-developmental.
- RSE should have a place within Personal and Social Development (PSD).
- Road Safety Units should provide less direct input and more support and advice to teachers.
- The most effective road safety education is developed by partnerships between class teachers, parents and Road Safety Officers, each supporting the others.
- The Scottish Road Safety Campaign's (SRSC) main role lies in the development of a national strategy.
2.30 The Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) has now developed such a national strategy and endorses the recommendations of Graham et al (2000). It has also produced a leaflet and website to disseminate its national strategy (SRSC, no date).
2.31 Research into Road Safety Education in S3 to S6 in Scottish secondary schools (Pringle, 2002) found that very little RSE was being taught. The main reason for this was that RSE was not considered appropriate, either by teachers or their pupils, for the upper secondary school. As Pringle highlighted:
Road Safety carried with it connotations of primary school, and of learning rules by rote. In addition, lack of good resources and lack of teaching time were seen as additional problems.
2.32 These findings are similar to Sawyer's (1998) qualitative study of young teenagers and road safety which noted that:
In general, young teenagers are not interested in road safety education, seeing it as something 'for kids' and as 'boring' and 'repetitive'.
2.33 Sawyer (1998) states that if road safety campaigns are to target the young teenagers group, they should focus on real-life approaches, stressing both the short- and long-term impact of suffering a pedestrian road accident.
2.34 Similar to Graham (2000), Pringle (2002) concludes that Road Safety Education should be treated as a topic related to personal safety and risk taking, and promoted and taught in this context. Pringle also suggests that RSE should be renamed. These measures would help RSE to 'be perceived and assimilated as a more adult topic'. In addition, evaluations of specific education resources indicate that these can serve as useful reminders of content covered in RSE. For example, Reid et al (2000) found that the SRSC travel pack was a useful reminder to children aged 8-10 years of road safety issues and may have increased their knowledge of specific elements of road safety. Although this is not strictly a curriculum or school-based pack, it was found to be useful in reinforcing children's understanding. The packs were well used, and their role as a 'reminder' (rather than as disseminating new information) was valuable.
The relative impact of various approaches
2.35 There is a debate running through the literature over the superiority of developmental or behavioural skills training and classroom education approaches in impacting on pedestrian safety skills. Van Schagen and Rothengatter (1997) noted that earlier findings indicated that classroom instruction could only affect knowledge and does not improve road crossing skills. However, their study, carried out in the Netherlands, produced contrary findings. Their results indicated that both classroom instruction and the behavioural training could achieve knowledge and behavioural improvements, even though the latter approach appeared to be slightly superior. Van Schagen and Rothengatter suggest that instruction carried out in the classroom can be beneficial in acquiring complex psychomotor skills. The conclusion is reached that precise formulation of the educational objectives and use of audio-visual media are essential factors determining the effectiveness of cognitive instruction of road crossing skills in the classroom.
2.36 Thomson et al (1998) examined the effectiveness of using parents to promote the development of road crossing skills in young children. This study looked at the use of parent volunteers to deliver practical training in road crossing skills. Volunteers were trained, who then trained children in small groups for two sessions. Thomson et al (199) found that:
Significant improvements relative to controls were found in all children following training. Improvements proved robust and no deterioration was observed two months after the programme ended. Comparison with a previous study in which training was undertaken by highly qualified staff showed that the volunteers were as effective as 'expert' trainers.
2.37 In line with wider literature on the effectiveness of health behaviour interventions, we find that the literature on influencing pedestrian safety stresses that it is easier to impact on knowledge and attitudes than on behaviour. And as Zeedyk et al (2001) highlight, increasing knowledge in this area does not usually improve behaviour. In their study of children in Dundee, those who had received training performed no better than children in a control group. Sawyer (1998) also found an apparent difference between young teenagers' knowledge and their actual behaviour: 'it was clear that road safety messages had been absorbed but had not been translated into action'.
Promoting more active and sustainable travel to school
The extent of active travel
2.38 In their Review of Research on School Travel, Derek Halden Consultancy (2002) found that:
The proportion of children in Scotland being driven to school by car is increasing rapidly and reached 20% of journeys to school in 2000… Although levels of car based travel to school are lower in Scotland than in England, they are growing strongly.
2.39 The Scottish Executive's (2003) consultation document A Walking Strategy for Scotland set out its aim to encourage walking as a means to promote health and road safety. The document included a figure of 21% for the number of pupils (of all ages) travelling to school by car or van in 2001.
2.40 As part of an evaluation of the sportscotland Active Primary School Programme (APSP), Lowden et al (2001; 2002) found that across the 11 APSP pilot schools 33% of primary pupils were transported to school by car despite most pupils in this study living relatively close to their school.
Reasons for less-active travel
2.41 A common theme across the research literature is that parents' attitudes and perceptions play an important role in children and young people's mode of travel to school. Halden et al (2002) report that:
Perceptions of safety and risk often do not match actual risk, so influencing attitudes to risk is an important element in changing travel behaviour.
2.42 However, there is evidence that the concerns some parents and teachers have relating to cycling to school are well founded. Granville et al (2001) conclude that:
Cyclists are generally not considered to deserve priority on the road by most other road users. The exception was drivers who also cycled who showed more tolerance and sympathy towards the rights of cyclists.
2.43 Situational factors such as geographical location can also play a role in how children and young people travel to school. Halden et al (2002) found that:
For many school trips in Scotland bus travel is the only practical alternative to car travel and the poor image and travel experiences of children on buses is a major concern.
2.44 As the proportion of children being driven to school has increased steadily over recent years studies have shown that this increase is not solely due to demographic and geographic factors. Granville et al (2002) found that the 'habit of driving children to school is becoming more common place' and explored the reasons for this. They found a complex interplay of factors:
…increasing distances to travel to school, in part exacerbated by free parental choice of schools, gender of a child, area of residence, increasing numbers of single parent households and households where both parents work, increasing affluence of the Scottish population and increasing car ownership levels.
2.45 They recommend better public transport and school buses. However, McWhannell and Braunholz (2002) found that teenagers thought school buses were 'rowdy', 'noisy' and 'unruly'. There was also consensus among young people that smoking and fighting on school buses and school-time buses were off-putting for young people as well as other travellers.
School buses are seen as being old and poorly maintained. They also have an image of being heavily vandalised…The introduction of the American Yellow School Bus is seen as one positive option.
2.46 Halden et al (2002) found that parents also shared young people's concerns and perceptions about bus travel to school. Kniveton (1986) also suggests that parental attitudes and perceptions concerning forms of travel to school for their children may reflect sex stereotypes. They were more likely to accompany girls, with relatively few parents accompanying boys to school in a study of 22 infant schools.
2.47 The Scottish School Travel Advisory Group (SSTAG, 2003) highlights their aim to promote a modal shift away from car use in travel to school. The Group recommends that all schools have a school travel plan. However, Granville (2002) states that 'given the success of community based schemes it is of concern that only about 2% of schools have school travel plans'. The SSTAG Report (2003) also stresses that a higher profile must be given in general to school travel issues with walking and cycling being promoted. As we shall see in Chapter 4, there does seem to have been a recent shift towards a much higher level of promotion of School Travel Plans and School Travel Co-ordinators following the SSTAG report.
Conclusions
2.48 The literature reveals that:
- A range of complex inter-related factors and processes affect children's vulnerability to road accidents. Important variables include age, gender and level of social disadvantage.
- Multifaceted responses are required to improve children's road safety and promote safer travel to school.
- Changes to the environment, eg engineering measures, and education and behavioural skills development programmes have been shown to have potential.
- However, improving only young people's awareness and knowledge of road safety measures does not necessarily mean they will adopt safer behaviours.
- Upper secondary school pupils and their teachers appear to place a low value on Road Safety Education (RSE). Some argue that this is because of the dubious quality of much RSE, rather than its lack of relevance for upper secondary pupils.
- Researchers conclude that all RSE should: have relevant content related to the wider curriculum; be delivered using effective teaching methods from teachers supported by appropriate external agencies (such as SRSC and local Road Safety Officers/Teams); and be based upon a school travel plan.
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