1. Car Passenger Safety Year 8
Slide 1
Print out these notes pages. What to do, questions and facts are in plain type, likely answers in italic.
X=click to advance Props: a box of tissues and a magazine
Introduce yourself. Ask the students for a few key facts which they can remember about Road Safety. (examples: Stop, Look, Listen; use proper crossings; wear a cycle helmet; put your seatbelt on etc.)
X Today we are talking about ‘Car Passenger Safety’
Explain we will be talking about In Car Safety, and that we hope they will be able to contribute to the talk today. If you are not showing this presentation to your own class or tutor group, make sure you have spoken to the usual teacher or tutor to see if any students have been involved in any crashes or any of their family or friends have been killed or seriously injured.
We suggest showing two short video clips (Look on YouTube for these Road Safety adverts: “Richard, pre 9pm version” to be shown at Slide 26 and “Backwards” at Slide 30) and if they think anyone should not watch them then please make appropriate arrangements for that student.

2. THE FACTS: number of people involved in road crashes every day in the UK in 2015:
Number of deaths
Number of serious injuries
Number of slight injuries 5 60
445
Slide 2
So road safety is a really important topic to cover because so many people are killed and injured on roads – and sadly many of them are teenagers.
How many people do you think are killed, seriously injured or sustain slight injuries on roads every day in the UK?
(Take 3 or 4 suggested numbers for each, then show actual figure)
The facts are that every day (2013 DFT)
X 5 people are killed on British roads,
X 60 people are seriously injured and a further
X 445 have slight injuries.
So let’s put that in some context :- for each of the 5 deaths a day, a family somewhere in the UK will have received a knock at the door from a police officer, to tell them that their loved one has been suddenly killed.
Many of the 60 serious injuries a day are life-changing, such as brain damage, limb loss and paralysis.
Road crashes differ from many other common causes of death in that they are always sudden and unexpected and they often affect children and young people.
X Sadly road crashes are the biggest killer of year-olds and the second biggest killer of 5-14 year-olds (after cancer) in Great Britain.
Many of those killed and injured are your age!
Road crashes are the biggest killer of year-olds!

3. Major causes of injury and death for car occupants
The Fatal Four!
Not wearing a seat belt
Distracting the driver
Drink and drugs
Speeding
Slide 3
What factors do you think cause most crashes in which someone is killed or badly injured? (Take answers, highlight these:
X The Fatal Four
X Not wearing a seat belt
How many of you always wear a seat belt in a vehicle? Talk about the dangers of not wearing one.
What happens if someone in the seat behind you doesn’t wear one? Talk about the injury which this could cause to that person and others.
What about loose objects in the vehicle (handbag, shopping, sports kit etc)? Discuss the impact of further injury.
X What could distract the driver? Mention mobile phones, music, SATNAV and talking to the driver.
X What if the driver has been drinking/taking drugs? Discuss
X Speed: How could you as a passenger influence the driver? Discuss

4. Why should we wear seat belts?
Slide 4
Ask if anyone remembers the Road safety demonstrations done in Primary school – e.g. Teddy etc
Show tissue box and magazine, explain the science behind it, i.e. that an ordinary object in the back of the car can become a dangerous missile because it keeps moving when the car stops. The tissue box would cause as much damage as a brick and the pages of the magazine could cut you like a knife!
I’m going to show you a short animation - I’ll ask you afterwards to explain what you think it means.

5. If you are in a car going at 30 miles an hour and not wearing a seat belt, watch out!!
Slide 5
Animation should run automatically (slides 6 to 20)

21. Who needs to wear a seat belt?
Slide 21
So, who should wear seat belts? – everyone, but special seats for babies/young children (discuss the different types of seat which the students’ younger siblings/cousins use), harnesses or barrier systems for dogs.
What happens if you have more people than seat belts? (discuss issues such as how to overcome the issue of too many people in car - ?make 2 journeys, ask another driver to use their car/public transport/ cycle/ walk. DON’T put a toddler on someone’s lap or put one seatbelt round 2 people.)
Everyone in the car must wear a seat belt. Mention Flying Granny syndrome! (i.e. if Granny hasn’t put her seatbelt on, she could be thrown forward in the event of a crash, injuring herself and other car occupants.)

22. Slide 22
Polly, a labrador/collie cross, in the car with her harness on.

23. 14 Seat belts At what age are you responsible for wearing a seat belt?
Slide 23
Seat Belts – Wearing a seat belt is probably the single biggest thing you can do to protect yourself when travelling in a vehicle!
X At what age does the law say YOU are responsible for wearing your seat belt?
X 14 – Does that surprise you? Research suggests that one of the most significant problems for people a bit older than you is the reduction in seat belt wearing. Most children up to the age of 13 years wear seatbelts. However, from age 14 – when you become responsible for wearing your own belts, seat belt wearing rates drop!
What about the driver’s responsibility? Discuss – there’s always a possibility that the driver might say “I’m not giving you a lift if you don’t wear your seatbelt!”

24. Seatbelts – how many people wear them?
Back seat passenger
(child)
91%
Front seat passenger
94%
Back seat passenger
(age 14-29)
59%
The Driver
95%
Slide 24 In 2012 a survey in Surrey by the Transport Research Laboratory gave these results for the percentage of people wearing seatbelts:
X Drivers 95%
X front seat passengers 94%
X back seat child passengers 91% but
X back seat passengers aged 14 to 29 were only 59%.
So, who do you think is most likely to be injured if there is a car crash? (The people not wearing seatbelts). You can see that while most people wore their belts as drivers and front seat passengers the rates drop dramatically when young people and adults ride in the back of the car. This is a big issue as in a crash everything unsecured will move. If you’re sitting in the back of a car with your seat belt on, but your mate next to you isn’t wearing his, if there’s a side-impact crash, who’s going to get hurt? YOU! I’m sure many of you have seen the TV ad campaign which showed the teenage boy, travelling in the back of the car without his seat belt and flying forward and killing the driver of the car – his mother. That ad is based on a real life story!
During a recent Road Safety day in Stroud, in about 4 hours when the police were checking cars on 3 separate roads, 23 people were stopped because they weren’t wearing seatbelts. Those people were putting their own and other peoples’ lives at risk.

25. SIMPLE BELT - Amazing Technology
It takes twelve thousandths of a second for a modern seat belt to react
A modern seat belt reacts to a crash 100 times faster than a human brain.
An air bag is only designed to save someone who is wearing a seat belt.
A belt will save your life before you’ve even had a chance to think about it.
Slide 25
X It takes twelve thousandths of a second for a modern seat belt to react
X A modern seat belt reacts to a crash 100 times faster than a human brain.
X An air bag is only designed to save someone who is wearing a seat belt.
X A belt will save your life before you’ve even had a chance to think about it.
Seat belts are amazing, and have saved thousands of lives since they were introduced.
Please remember, like all equipment seat belts will only work if used correctly - so do make sure you wear it properly, so that the belt is over your shoulders & hips – the strongest parts of your skeleton.

26. Show video clip “Richard – pre 9pm version” or another suitable clip about seatbelt wearing at this point
Slide 26
3 Strikes “Richard” video – pre watershed version.

27. Reasons not to wear your seat belt!
It’s not comfortable
Crease your clothes
Makes the driver think you don’t trust them
Car cramming
Don’t think you need one
It’s not cool!
Slide 27
Ask the students why they do not like wearing seat belts.
Consider their answers and discuss them, along with these possible reasons
X It’s not comfortable
X Crease your clothes
X Makes the driver think you don’t trust them
X Car cramming
X Don’t think you need one
X It’s not cool!

28. Distractions increase the collision risk
What passenger behaviour might distract the driver?
Why is this a problem?
Slide 28
X Passengers distract drivers – How?
What they are saying or doing, shouting /jumping about/ being silly
X Phone / texting
X Music
X Lots of people
X Party atmosphere
X Why is it a problem?
Young drivers particularly need to concentrate on their driving . So travel sensibly, be aware that the driver needs to concentrate – keep the party for when you get there!

29. Consequences of irresponsible passenger behaviour
You could be killed or seriously injured
You could kill or injure someone else
Think about the effect of either of these on your friends or family
Slide 29
What are the consequences of irresponsible passenger behaviour:-
X You could be killed or seriously injured
X You could kill or injure someone else
X Think about the effect of either of these on your friends or family

30. Show “Backwards” video at this point
Slide 30 run ‘Backwards’ (pizza boys) ad
I think that says it all! Without the seat belt they are all badly hurt and the guy in the back ends up out through the windscreen. With their belts on they might need to buy a new pizza but they are all alive and not badly injured. In real life however remember – you won’t get to rewind for a second chance!

31. Smart Choices Always wear your seatbelt.
Check everyone else in the car does too.
Don’t distract the driver.
Slide 31
So it is all about making ‘Smart Choices’
X Always wear your seatbelt.
X Check everyone else in the car does too.
X Don’t distract the driver.
A Crash can happen at any time of the day or night, on any road whether the traffic is light or heavy. When a vehicle hits your car, there’s nothing you can do, no lightening quick reaction time or driving skills the driver may have can help. The best protection you have is your seat belt.
Belting up is a simple thing to do, forgetting can change your life.