A range of ideas has been included here to help schools focus their community’s attention on preventing and reducing road trauma. Schools will choose strategies that meet their needs, as well as the needs of their community.
School policy
Before beginning teaching any Road Safe resources, a school should check that it has a road safety policy, and if that policy needs to be reviewed.
An example of a road safety policy can be accessed from the New Zealand Transport Agency’s education portal.
Points to include in a primary school policy
Suggested points to cover in the primary school policy are:
- the age at which children permitted to ride cycles to school (note that Police recommend that children under 10 years of age should not ride on the road unless accompanied by an adult riding with them)
- legal requirements for wearing of cycle helmets
- procedures for dealing with a road crash involving school children
- ratio of adults to students on school outings (see the Ministry of Education's EOTC guidelines)
- the use of vehicles in and around the school grounds, including parents picking up and dropping off students
- the operation of School Traffic Safety Teams.
Points to include in a secondary school policy
Suggested points to cover in the secondary schools policy are:
- student drivers following their graduated driver licensing requirements
- relevant curriculum activities
- the use of alcohol by adults at school-related functions, including sports activities
- transport arrangements after school functions
- handling alcohol-related incidents/problems involving staff and students
- any other approrpiate points from the primary suggestions above.
Communicate with your school community
Invite local Police to write an article for the school newsletter or website to increase awareness of road trauma occurrences and probable causes.
Regularly include road safety prevention tips. Choose ones that are suitable for your community.