Transitioning to better road safety

Almost 140 secondary schools nationwide have participated in the first phase of a new Transition Year road safety module.

Launched in September by the Road Safety Authority (RSA), the Road Safety Matters Transition Year (TY) programme has seen 149 teachers from 24 counties take part so far.

Supported by An Garda Síochána, the programme is designed to further support TY students and teachers, offering a step-by-step guide to prepare, educate, and support students on their road safety journey.

The roll-out of the programme is on a phased basis. In phase one, 149 teachers representing 138 schools attended in-person professional learning in Swinford, Athlone, Portlaoise, Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Donegal.

Welcoming the roll-out of the training, Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, said: “I have visited schools the length and breadth of the country and it is an inordinate sadness to me when a much loved and a much treasured student has been lost in a road fatality collision.

“The strong participation from our schools in this first stage of roll-out of the new TY road safety programme is a real indication of their appetite and willingness to deliver this education for a critical group of road users.

“We need to remember that road safety is a responsibility for all of us to address, not just schools. Road safety matters to each and every one of us,” added Minister Foley.

The programme consists of 10 units: Setting the Scene; Learning to Drive; Components of a Car; Speed; Alcohol; Drugs; Distracted Driving; Seatbelts; Vulnerable Road Users; and Assessment and Celebrations.

The aim of the programme is to provide TY students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be safe road users.

As part of the training, they are given information about basic road safety matters such as the two second rule for maintaining a safe distance between cars, how alcohol is detected in more than a third of drivers killed in crashes, and how to speak up if they are a passenger in a car which is being driven too quickly.

Pupils participating in the programme will learn the importance of sharing the road, developing the knowledge, skills, values, and qualities to prepare them as road users of all types, including potentially as safe drivers, if they decide to drive in the future.

Pupils will also get the chance to learn and understand some of the questions from the Driver Theory Test, which has to be passed before doing a driving test.

Participating students will also be given ‘beer impairment goggles’ and ‘drug impairment’ goggles as experiential tools to promote learning of key road safety lessons, where they simulate the effects of alcohol and drugs while driving. They are challenged to complete a variety of tasks while wearing the goggles, such as walking the line, touching their nose, and stacking cups.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, James Lawless TD, said: “It is very encouraging to see such high levels of participation in the Road Safety Matters Transition Year Programme since its launch. Road safety is a priority of mine and I want to reiterate how important it is that our young people are conscious of the rules of the road and that they incorporate road safety into their everyday lives. I look forward to continued success in the new year.”

As part of the development of the programme, a needs analysis was conducted with TY teachers and students. The results showed that there were significant gaps in students’ level of knowledge of road safety and confirmed that there was an overwhelming demand for more road safety education at post-primary level.

Sarah O’Connor, Director of Partnerships and External Affairs with the RSA, said: “The interest in the programme reflects a clear understanding of the importance of road safety education among principals, teachers, and students, and we look forward to continuing this momentum in the coming phases. We also want to thank our team who facilitated in this in-person training which has received such tremendous feedback on how it has been delivered.”

Phase two of the RSA programme, supported by the Department of Education and An Garda Síochána and officially sponsored by Irish Public Bodies mutual insurance, will see continued roll-out to schools with the aim of significantly expanding the reach of the programme in September 2025.