ÖAMTC Upper Austria has been working for decades to promote safe mobility for children and young people with targeted programmes.
Safe on the road right from the start
Around the start of school, children's road safety becomes a particular focus. A practised route to school can be crucial in an emergency. "Discuss contingencies and provide the necessary behavioural advice. This way, children can be prepared for unforeseen situations so that they don't react helplessly or frantically in an emergency," says Petra Riener, Head of Road Safety at ÖAMTC Upper Austria. Repetition is crucial: "Behavioural recommendations need to be gone over and discussed often so that they become engrained in the child. What they have learnt should therefore be repeated again and again at regular intervals."
Learning through experience instead of a raised index finger
However, road safety is not a topic for a single month. The Mobility Club is involved in professional road safety education programmes that introduce children to correct behaviour in road traffic in an age-appropriate manner. As early as kindergarten, five-year-olds learn how to use pavements, roads and zebra crossings safely in a playful way with "Das kleine Straßen 1x1". This is followed in primary school by programmes such as "Look and click" or "Hello car!", in which children experience for themselves that even emergency braking does not immediately bring a car to a standstill. All programmes, which are used by around 20,000 children and young people in Upper Austria every year, follow the principle of "learning through experience" and also address modern dangers such as smartphones and headphones.
Sensitising young people and strengthening responsibility
For young people in vocational and secondary schools, topics such as speed, alcohol and moped tuning take centre stage. Risks and responsibility are discussed openly in road safety dialogues. "Especially at an age when risky behaviour plays a major role, it is important to raise young people's awareness and educate them about the possible consequences of careless behaviour," emphasises Harald Großauer, Regional Director of ÖAMTC Upper Austria. A particular highlight as the largest road safety event in Austria is the Young Mobility Convention, which takes place every two years and where thousands of Upper Austrian schoolchildren experience road safety in a practical, age-appropriate and fun way.
#schongenial, when playful learning leads to safety for life.
