Setting the Scene – Speeding Introductory Module: Setting the Scene – Speeding

Young drivers Slide 2 – Introduction Explain to students road safety is a high priority for our community. Young drivers are often singled out as an ‘at risk’ group and this is certainly reflected in the media coverage of incidents involving young drivers.   Whilst not all young and inexperienced drivers would be considered poor drivers, there is strong statistical evidence to suggest that young drivers are over represented in deaths and injuries when in the road environment. Explain that they will be exploring some of the issues confronting young drivers. The activities will help them identify some of the facts and fallacies about young drivers. Students will have an opportunity to explore why it is that some young drivers are placing themselves at a very high risk of death or injury as both passengers and drivers. CLICK to next slide.

Causes of death ages 15-19 years, NSW 2005 Slide 3 Ask students: What do you think are the main causes of death for people aged 15 -19 years of age?   Build up a list of suggestions on a large piece of paper, whiteboard or blackboard. Ask the students to: identify from the list, the causes of death that could be considered accidental in nature i.e. could have been prevented. estimate the percentage of deaths for 15-19 year olds in Australia that are accidental. When they estimate the correct answer or get close. Click to next slide to reveal the pie graph showing that 49% of deaths of young people are classified as accidental. The term accidental is used in epidemiology to describe a range of conditions that are probably preventable. Accidental death refers to deaths from accidents or poisonings which occurred without obvious human intention to produce them. It includes deaths due to motor vehicle accidents, accidental poisoning, accidental falls, drowning, fires and inhalation or ingestion of foreign bodies such as buttons, marbles etc. Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Causes of death ages 15-19 years, NSW 2005 60 50 40 Percentage of all deaths 30 20 10 Slide 4 Explain to students that this slide shows a representation of all accidental deaths.   CLICK Ask students to consider which column (red 35% or green 14%) would be labelled road deaths and which would be other accidental deaths. Reveal the labels and discuss student accuracy in their perceptions. Discuss perceptions v’s facts. CLICK to highlight ROAD DEATHS. As around 35% of all deaths of young people are between the ages of 15 and 19 years, this statistical information points to why governments and communities are highlighting road safety as a key community issue. Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics ? Road Deaths Other accidents (drowning, falls etc.)

Factors contributing to fatal crashes for drivers Slide 5 Explain to students that this graph represents the main factors contributing to fatal crashes for drivers. The red bars represent drivers under the age of 20 years. The blue bar represents drivers over the age of 20. Ask students: What do they think are the main contributing factors to fatal crashes?   CLICK to reveal each label Excessive Speed Fatigue Illegal Alcohol Discuss: Do these match student predictions? Why do you think there are differences between the two groups - especially with speed related fatalities? Highlight the fact that speed is the most significant factor. Highlight the differences between young people and the rest of the population. As around 35% of all deaths of young people are between the ages of 15 and 19 years, this statistical information points to why governments and communities are highlighting road safety as a key community issue. These graphs represent only the fatalities in the road environment. Fatalities occurring as a result of crashes in driveways, on farms and so on are not included in these statistics. Data source: NSW CRS/RTA

Speeding the facts NSWCRS/RTA crash lab video. Click to play movie In NSW speeding is a factor in about 40 per cent of road deaths. This means around 200 people die each year from speed related crashes in NSW. Speeding was a factor in the deaths of 1049 people over the five years 2002–2006. In addition to those killed, more than 4700 people are injured in speed-related crashes each year. The cost of speeding is not only a human one. Speed-related crashes cost the community around $780 million each year. Show slide 6 – Speeding the facts Allow students to read and make comment. CLICK on image on slide 6 to NSWCRS/RTA’s Crashlab link of the video of head-on crashes. NSWCRS/RTA crash lab video. Click to play movie

Speed – km/h Risk relative to 60 km/h: Crash risks Speeding increases the risk of a crash and the severity of the crash outcome. The risk of causing death or injury in an urban 60km/h speed zone increases rapidly even with relatively small increases in speed. The crash risk at 65km/h is about twice the risk at 60km/h. At 70km/h, the crash risk is more than four times the risk at 60km/h. Show slide 7 – Crash risk Allow students to read slide.   Speed – km/h Risk relative to 60 km/h: 65km/h - Double 70km/h - 4 times 75km/h - 11 times 80km/h - 32 times

What are the consequences? Activity 2 Slide 8 Show NSWCRS/RTA video clip Speeding – the single most critical risk factor for young drivers.   Students reflect on their initial thoughts about the video clip with the person next to them. Divide students into 5 groups – each group then discusses the following questions: What are the main messages you got from the video? Why do you think people speed? What are the consequences of speed? How can we start to change drivers’ attitudes towards speed? Speeding is about speeding for the existing road and environmental conditions – not just a number on the speedometer. Even small differences in speed make a large difference to the probability of serious injury. Highlight that in a 60km/hr zone, the risk of serious injury or fatality DOUBLES with every 5km/hr over the speed limit. Highlight the emotional impact on: family (parents, siblings) friends, passengers There is a need for teachers to be aware of the sensitivities of students with this clip as it may have a strong impact on those with close personal experience of road trauma. NSWCRS/RTA video film clip: Speeding – the single most critical risk factor for young drivers. Click to play movie

Discussion questions What are the main messages you get from the video? Why do you think people speed? What are some of the consequences of speed? How can we start to change drivers’ attitudes towards speed? Slide 9 Show slide 9 through the discussion to remind students of the questions.   Groups report back.

Consequences Every road death brings massive personal tragedy for family, friends & colleagues Every road death = 50 road injuries 8 of those 50 injuries = serious, permanent disability (brain, spinal, lost limbs). Each serious injury has long-term emotional and monetary costs both directly & in terms of lost income Road death costs 3.6 billion in NSW annually Slide 10 Show slide 10 at the completion of discussion to reinforce key points.   Data source: NSW CRS/RTA

As a driver or passenger, what can I do if a driver is speeding? assertive behaviour safe choices Slide 11 Activity 3 – Passenger assertiveness – keeping yourself safe Refer to teacher sheet   Seat students in a formation that simulates sitting in a vehicle. Each student is allocated a role and given a role card with 3 different scenarios. The remainder of students observe the reactions of the passengers. Passengers make judgements about the appropriateness or responses by the driver and passenger. Discuss the strategies that the drivers and passengers could adopt to minimise the risk of a crash. Discuss how the responses of passengers and drivers may vary if: they were travelling at night the driver had a legal restriction on passenger numbers the weather conditions were poor the road environment was an urban or rural environment?  The aim of this activity is to assist students to practise verbalising the phrases and strategies they can use if they find themselves in a situation where they are a passenger in a car with a speeding driver. Teachers can use the cards provided to select different “conditions and scenarios”, so that students will experience changing environments and be encouraged to make good decisions to minimise risk in these situations. The scenarios are provided as an example only, and students and teachers are encouraged to develop different scenarios that reflect local circumstances.

Total number of deaths on NSW roads The good news: Total road deaths … DOWN SPEED-related deaths Deaths from crashes involving young drivers or riders Total number of deaths on NSW roads Slide 12 Finish the presentation on a positive note.   CLICK to reveal Total road deaths down CLICK to reveal Speed-related deaths down CLICK to reveal Deaths from crashes involving young drivers or riders down. Explain to students the best news is, that the number of deaths and serious injuries from road crashes - is falling. Better roads and better cars contribute, but human factors such as attitudes to risk, safety and concern for others will play a significant role. The key factor is ATTITUDE. Changes to driver attitude to speeding will bring about further decreases to fatality numbers in the years to come. Be part of this change – help to bring fatality numbers down. Teachers need to finish the module positively, explaining there have been some positive developments over recent years but there are still too many young people injured or dying as a result of road trauma. It is important to encourage students to be part of the change. Data source: NSW RTA