The TRUST project will test and evaluate different interventions to improve Traffic Safety Culture (TSC) in different settings. These are called the TRUST pilots. One of the TRUST pilots will focus on secondary schools.
Traffic safety and mobility education are key elements of the Safe System and essential for developing safe and sustainable traffic behaviour. European countries committed in as early as 1968 to provide traffic safety education in schools and reaffirmed this commitment in 2001 by promoting a shared safety culture through education. But implementation still varies widely – especially at secondary school level.
The TRUST pilot in secondary schools addresses this challenge and will focus on students aged 13–18. Its main goal is to develop and validate teaching materials that will enable teachers to integrate traffic safety and mobility topics into everyday lessons with minimal additional effort.
The pilot builds on proven approaches, combining ETSC’s LEARN! Manual for developing and evaluating traffic safety and mobility education activities with the ‘Risi & Ko’ teaching concept, endorsed by the Austrian Ministry of Education.
For 13–14‑year‑old students, the pilot will develop and test teaching materials designed for use within single lessons and for easy integration into different subjects or substitute lessons. The content builds on existing Risi & Ko topics addressing risk and peer pressure, social competence, distraction, and different mobility modes. Rather than focusing on traffic rules alone, the materials aim to foster responsible behaviour by strengthening self‑regulation, cooperation, and awareness.
The materials will be tested in three countries: Bulgaria, Italy and Serbia. An online survey has already been conducted in each of the three countries to identify relevant traffic safety topics. Based on these findings, the teaching materials will now be specified, tested, and validated in three school classes per country. Additionally, the Austrian Risi & Ko materials will be expanded to include a new topic – regulating emotions.
For 15–18‑year‑olds, where suitable materials are currently less readily available, the TRUST secondary school pilot will be more exploratory. Focus groups and testing different approaches in school classes across various regions of Austria, will investigate how best to reach older adolescents, while considering their differing attitudes and needs. An online survey on this topic is currently being prepared.
The TRUST secondary school pilot will result in a) validated teaching materials in national languages for four countries, b) insights on engaging older adolescents, and c) a recorded webinar for practitioners, available via the TRUST platform, to support traffic safety education across Europe.
By Anita Eichhorn and Daniela Knowles
