Our grade 10 students worked on a road safety campaign in the spring of 2017. We identified the main road safety concerns affecting us on a daily basis in the city of Shanghai and used a variety of mediums to raise awareness of them at school.
The ideas
Shanghai is a vibrant and beautiful city, yet we can all agree that in city traffic we face road safety risks every day. We discussed the ways in which traffic affects our lives and identified main road safety risks in Shanghai: vehicles turning the corner on a red light, scooter traffic, insufficient helmet use, jaywalking and using a cellphone and headphones while crossing the street. We also conducted research on the facts and statistics on accident rates and causes in China and worldwide. Some of us also undertook research into the future of cars and discovered new developments in car engineering based on sustainability and safety. Then, we discussed possible preventions and solutions to these issues.
The initiatives
We decided it was essential that we raise awareness in our school of road safety issues. We worked in small groups to create different types of materials for our campaign. First, we presented the topic of road safety risks - such as jaywalking and listening to music while crossing the street - at the senior school assembly. We acted out skits to show what could easily happen on the street if one is not a responsible pedestrian. In each skit, we acted out a scenario of what would happen if a pedestrian was behaving in a risky manner, and then repeated the scene with an example of responsible behavior. We also asked the audience to identify the main risks enacted in each skit.
Next, we held an information booth outside the cafeteria during two lunch times to raise awareness about road safety. We created two large posters, and invited students and teachers to write down what they would do to stay safe on the roads. Some of the comments included, "Always look left and right before you cross the street and keep looking as you are crossing the street"; "Don't look at your phone when crossing the street"; and "Wear a helmet when riding a scooter, bike or skateboard."
Another group created a video report including interviews with people in the school’s community (teachers, students, bus drivers) and showed the video at another assembly time. The interviews highlighted the main safety concerns that different people perceive on the streets. Furthermore, all of us wrote informative articles on road safety issues for our IGCSE English Coursework. A selection of articles was shared in our school's online newsletter and on our own blogs.
Overall, we produced a wide range of materials to raise awareness of road safety within our school community and we feel we have communicated these issues effectively. Since the project, students and teachers have been more responsible about using seatbelts on the buses, and conversations about road safety continue to this day.
