Road Safety EducationFrom primary to lower secondary schools

Mr Boran PENChief of road safetyGeneral Secretariat of National Road Safety Committee

Cambodia

Overview of road safety in Cambodiatraffic accidents make up 46% of all recorded injuries.

Road traffic accidents, casualties and fatalities increase more proportionally than road traffic and population.

• Every day, more then 4 persons die and other 70 are injured.

• Over the last five years, the number of fatalities has tripled.

• The total economic loss of road traffic accidents is estimated at 116 million US$ annually (ADB) in 2004.

Sources: RTAVIS annual report 2007

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Population Registered vehicles Number of accidents Fatalities

Overview of road safety in Cambodiathe fatality rate (in 100,000 inhabitants) has increased since 1998, with the highest rate recorded in 2007 (10.8 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants), an increase of 17% compared to 2006

Sources: RTAVIS annual report 2007

3.7

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18.4

21.5

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18.1

15.7

12.412.0

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10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

19

98

19

99

20

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20

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20

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04

20

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Number of fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants Number of fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles

Overview of road safety in Cambodia

23%

6%

6%

3%

3%

1%

0%

0%

29%

23%

4%

3%

2%

2%

2%

1%

1%

1%

0%

20%

26%

1%

1%

1%

0%

1%

1%

2%

4%

3%

16%

6%

2%

0%

0%

5%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Farmer

Worker

Student

House keeping/Servant

Vendor/Small business

Motor taxi driver

Unemployed

Child

Soldier

Other government employee

Police

Car taxi driver

Other

Teacher

Tourist/Expatriate

Retire

Fisherman

Office employee

Occ

up

atio

n

Casualties Fatalities

Sources: RTAVIS annual report 2007

The economically active part of the population is the most affected by road traffic accidents (students contributed 16% of fatalities, and 40% of them age less then 16 years old).

Overview of road safety in CambodiaPeople aged between 20 and 29 years old represent the highest percentage of fatalities (almost 40%).

Sources: RTAVIS annual report 2007

3%

17%

22%

7%6%

12%

11% 11%9%

5%

1%

7%8% 8%

4%5%

6%5%

13%12%

8%

11%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

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>5 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 >=55

Percentage of fatalities Percentage of population

Overview of road safety in CambodiaMajority of children get injured when traveling by motorbike as a pedestrian, and bicycle

Sources: RTAVIS annual report 2007

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Number of children victims in road traffic accidents in Phnom Penh in 2004

motorbike pedestrian bicycle car remorq bus taxi other

HappeningIn 2004, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) in collaboration with Handicap International decided to introduce a specific road safety curriculum in the Cambodian primary school curriculum, from grade 1 to grade 6 (age 6 to 12).

HappeningThen, following the successful implementation, in 2007, with support from Educating New Zealand, the road safety curriculum has been extended to lower secondary schools.

Happening

General approach: - Road Safety Education is integrated into:

1. The Local Life Skill Program (selected subject): 10 lessons per grade;

2. Main Curriculum: Social Studies

- Road safety education is linked to the motorbike driving license programs (for students age 16 years old)

- Practical activities in playgrounds have been introduced to teachers and students as part of the lessons

- Traffic police officers have been involved to deliver some part of the lessons;

- Capacity building to local team

Happening

Content:• Overview of the main characteristics of the street,

transport environment;

• Safe behaviour (pedestrian, passenger; driver)

• Traffic law

Happening

Achievement: been implemented in all provinces/cities:

– Development of comprehensive road safety education curriculum for student s (6 to 15 years old)

– Effective teaching practice through teacher training program

– Development of teaching and student materials

– Capacity building to local team

Happening

Achievement:– Improvement of student knowledge

Baseline and post survey in primary schools in Phnom Penh after one year implementation

Classification Poor Very Good Excellent

Baseline 26.4% 11.2% 4.1%

Endline 5.2% 33.0% 15.0%

Change - 21.2 % + 21.8% + 10.9%

Lesson learnt

• Integration into:– Main curriculum (social studies): can ensure the

sustainability of the curricular, but need opportunity and take more time,

– local life skill program (a selected subject): take shorter time for the approval and implementation, but it is a vulnerable program and need more commitment from schools

Need to target both (social study and local life skill programs)

Lesson learnt• Practical teaching method (in partnership with traffic police

officers):

– It is very important for road safety education and well appreciated by teachers and students.

– Challenges:• it requires time allocated in school schedule to practice and

commitment from teachers• Some teachers require more incentives to do (low salary in the

education system)

Lesson learnt

• Coordination/collaboration with other education projects: there are many stakeholders involved in the education system (UNICEF, Save the children,…) with many education projects (child friendly school program, support to local life skill program,…). Mainstreaming approach can be used for road safety education with other education projects.

Mainstreaming in other education projects/activities

Lesson learnt• Coordination/collaboration with other relevant

ministries contribute to the success of project implementation: – Ministry of interior: traffic police officers in schools– Ministry of health: health staff getting in schools– Ministry of public work and transport: driving license

program

Lesson learnt

• Link to driving license program: (students, 16 years old, can directly apply for the driving license test, after they complete the lessons)

– motivates schools to deliver road safety education curriculum;

– But, it may strengthen the focus of the teaching on traffic law rather than on safe behaviour.

Lesson learnt

• Monitoring: – Lack of coordination between departments of

training and implementation and the department of inspection, who responsible for the monitoring

Need more coordination for the integration into the permanent monitoring system of

the ministry

Lesson learnt

• Materials: different contexts between town and rural areas

Additional materials should be localized in according to the different context (rural road vs urban road,…)

Lesson learnt

• Other challenges:– Limited national budget for road safety education;– Need more capacity building among teachers,

especially on safe behaviour, traffic law, traffic sign, and active teaching technique

Next steps

• Review the primary school curriculum, after 4-year implementation;

• Extend the lower secondary school curriculum to other 10 provinces;

• Develop the road safety curriculum for high schools (Grades 10-12)

Thank you