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Slide 1 Welcome and introduction Explain that you are going to be discussing road safety and introducing an exciting new project by Brake, the road safety charity – a competition encouraging young people to make short films that explain the true impact of road crashes and inspire others to campaign for safe and healthy journeys. Move to next slide

How often is someone killed on

a road?

[Insert Project24 video]

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Slide 4 Young people making a difference to road safety If, previously, students said they didn’t feel able to make a difference, now is a good time to explain that young people are fantastic champions for road safety and there has never been a better time for their voice to be heard. Remind them that young campaigners like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai have made headlines across the world with their calls for action against climate change and equal education opportunities. Around the world, young people are also campaigning for the road safety issues that are important in the places where they live. They have marched, created artwork, spoken to reporters, painted signs on the streets and generally shouted out about the dangers they face and called for change. In return they have seen international politicians sit up and take notice, gained support from local police forces and government, and enabled training to take place in schools. Explain to your students that these young people have made a difference and so can they. They can be leaders for safe and healthy journeys by raising awareness and engaging with their peers about the dangers of transport to people’s safety. Project24 is an ideal opportunity for them to let their voice be heard as they speak out about the dangers they face. Move to next slide

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Slide 5 The competition Explain how the competition will work. The competition invites young people aged 11-18 to create a short film, no more than 24 seconds long, to raise awareness about road safety. They will need to explain the true impact of road crashes, explain some of the amazing solutions available to prevent crashes and inspire other people to campaign for safe and healthy mobility. There are lots of different ways they could make their film. For example, they could: Make a short film highlighting a road safety issue of local or global relevance Record an interview (or series of interviews) with a person linked to road safety, such as a road crash victim, emergency service professional, politician etc. Create a stop-motion or whiteboard animation Write a poem Present a song/dance/rap about the topic Film artwork showcasing the solutions available to prevent crashes, such as better road or vehicle design The content can be as simple or advanced as they like. The deadline for entering this competition is Friday 31 January 2020. The best entries will be featured on the Brake website, and the winners will receive prizes for themselves and their school. Move to next slide

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Slide 6 Potential topics Students can choose to focus their film on whatever road safety subject they like. To get some ideas started, ask for a show of hands from students who walk or cycle to school, and then ask how many feel safe doing so. Briefly discuss the benefits of walking and cycling, using some of the following points: Walking and cycling are excellent forms of exercise and can help people to maintain a healthy weight and physical fitness, and reduce the risk of serious conditions like diabetes and heart disease later in life. Many people don’t feel it is safe to cycle on the roads where they live. More than a fifth of carbon dioxide emissions come from cars and other vehicles, while both walking and cycling are generally considered to be a zero-emissions form of transport. Estimates suggest around 12,000 premature deaths could be prevented over the next 10 years if the UK and Scottish governments meet their targets for increasing the number of cycling and pedestrian journeys. Ask for suggestions about what they might need for safe and healthy journeys. Some ideas may include: Lower speed limits – 20mph is a safer speed than 30mph in places where people live and work. When traffic speeds are low, more people choose to walk or cycle. Footpaths and cycle paths that are physically separated from traffic Both of these suggestions are part of what’s known as a ‘safe systems’ approach to road safety, which could be a good starting point for the students to conduct more research for their entries. Move to next slide

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Slide 7 Safe systems for safe and healthy journeys Explain that no one should be hurt on roads and everyone has the right to safe and healthy journeys. Safe journeys happen when we design our streets, roads and cycle paths so that the mistakes people make don’t result in death or serious injury. Healthy journeys are important to keep us active and happy. Choosing to walk or cycle shouldn’t put us at increased risk, and the air we breathe on these journeys should be clean too. The great news is that the solutions to create safe and healthy journeys are known and available to us now! This is known as the ‘safe systems’ approach to road safety. Under the safe systems approach, we must build more safe spaces for people who walk and cycle, and ensure that vehicles on our roads don’t pollute our air. We need safety technology in vehicles and safe speed limits on our roads too. Explain that in the photo the cyclists are cycling on a dedicated cycling path that is separated from motorised traffic by a physical barrier. Depending on students’ age and ability, you could also explain that: The goal of safe systems is to recognise that people make mistakes and to ensure that these mistakes do not lead to a crash; or, if a crash does occur, it is sufficiently controlled to not cause a death or a life-changing injury. Successful safe system approaches include: Separating pedestrians and cyclists from traffic Lowering speed limits to appropriate levels, and enforcing existing limits Educating road users about why speed limits are set at those levels and the dangers of exceeding speed limits Technology that can prevent road crashes or minimise the harm they cause Reducing the number of vehicles on the roads Safe systems approaches to road safety have already been adopted in Sweden and the Netherlands, and the World Health Organization recommends all countries do the same. The UK has not fully adopted a safe systems approach to road safety, but some parts of the country are making progress. For example, decision-makers in the city of Bristol have made the city’s roads safer and reduced congestion by improving the cycle network and road layout to make safe, people-friendly streets. Move to next slide

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Slide 8 Potential topics (continued) Road deaths and injuries are devastating events for families and communities. Post-crash care is essential to saving lives after road crashes and preventing serious injury and is another important road safety subject that students could focus on in their Project 24 film. For example, they could talk about how first-class emergency services and hospital care for the injured give the best chance of survival and prevention of life-changing injuries such as paralysis or head injury. Or they could focus on the importance of emotional and practical support for people affected by road death and serious injury. Invite students to suggest how post-crash care could be improved. Some potential answers include: How schools/communities/government can support people affected by road crashes Encouraging more people to take part in first aid training so they know what to do if they are first at the scene of a crash Training more first responders e.g. paramedics and fire officers Systems that automatically let emergency services know when a road crash has occurred Building better roads so emergency services can more quickly reach the scene of a crash, or transport people to hospital Investigation of the causes of crashes so that solutions to prevent them can be identified More information can be found on the European Transport Safety Council website (https://etsc.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018-05-ETSC-Overview-of-post-collision-response-in-the-EU.pdf) Move to next slide

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Slide 9 Key players in road safety There are countless other subjects that competition entries can focus on, such as phone distraction, drink- and drug-driving, fatigue and environmental sustainability. Invite students to suggest any ideas they may have for potential topics for their videos. Explain that the organisations listed here are all involved in road safety or in supporting young people to campaign on issues that are important to them. Talk to students about how they could find out more about these organisations to get inspiration or information that they can use in their film. BRAKE “Brake is a road safety charity working with communities and organisations across the UK to stop the tragedy of road deaths and injuries, make streets and communities safer for everyone, and support people bereaved and seriously injured on roads.” www.brake.org.uk Youth for Brake “Youth for Brake is a secondary schools project empowering young people to achieve Brake’s vision of safe, green, healthy and fair transport. Youth for Brake helps young people run their own road safety campaigns, engaging with their peers and communities about key problems where they live.” www.brake.org.uk/youth LIVING STREETS “We want to create a walking nation, free from congested roads and pollution, reducing the risk of preventable illness and social isolation and making walking the natural choice. We believe that a walking nation means progress for everyone.” https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/ 20s PLENTY FOR US “We are a not-for-profit organisation that was formed in 2007 to help communities who want a more live-able street environment where they live by setting a mandatory 20mph limit for most roads. We do not represent any particular sector of society or mode of transport and our supporters include children, adults and the elderly. Our supporters are car drivers, cyclists pedestrians and some even horse riders.” http://www.20splenty.org/ CYCLING UK “Cycling UK’s vision is of a healthier, happier and cleaner world, because more people cycle.” https://www.cyclinguk.org/ YOURS – YOUTH FOR ROAD SAFETY “YOURS is a global organization that acts to make the world's roads safe for youth.” http://www.youthforroadsafety.org ST JOHN AMBULANCE “St John Ambulance is the nation’s leading first aid charity. Every year, more than 400,000 people learn how to save a life through our training programmes, including hundreds of thousands of young people. Our volunteers provide first aid in their communities, keeping people safe at events, and working alongside the NHS in response to 999 calls. We’re also always campaigning to raise awareness of first aid and directly educate the public.” http://www.sja.org.uk/sja/default.aspx SUSTRANS “Our vision for the UK is a healthy, clean and prosperous place where people can choose to travel safely and conveniently by foot or bike. We're working with families, communities, policy-makers and partner organisations right across the UK to make it easier for people to walk and cycle.” https://www.sustrans.org.uk/ SADD – Students Against Dangerous Driving “Students Against Dangerous Driving (SADD) is a charity committed to reducing risk on roads in New Zealand. SADD empowers young people to make safer and better choices on the road and focuses on six key issues affecting young driver safety: Sober drivers; Safe speeds; No distractions; Avoiding risks; Driving to the conditions; and Building experience.” https://sadd.org.nz/ FIXERS “Young people using their past to fix the future. Fixers works with young people aged 16-25 across the UK by providing them with professional resources to help them campaign on issues that matter to them. The charity has helped more than 20,000 youngsters across the UK to have a voice in their community on issues such as cyber-bullying, self-harm, suicide or transphobia.” http://www.fixers.org.uk/home.php Move to next slide

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Slide 10 Entering the competition Explain to students that once they’ve chosen a subject for their film, it’s time to use their creativity and passion to turn their research into an interesting, engaging film that will really make people sit up and take notice. Remind them that the competition is looking for films that explain: the true impact of road crashes; and the amazing solutions that are available to prevent them. It is also looking for films that inspire other people to campaign for safer roads. Say that no one is expecting them to cover everything in 24 seconds, so they should choose a topic that’s important to them and keep their message simple. Here are some helpful tips: It’s easy to make a professional-looking film with little more than a laptop or a phone. Grab your camera and get out filming in your community. If you’re campaigning about safe systems, you could film traffic on a local road and include this in your film. Or you can interview friends, family, teachers, decision-makers or emergency service professionals to get their opinions about road safety. Alternatively you could speak to the camera, in which case you might want to write a script to help you clearly get your message across. You should also find a quiet place to film, so background noise won’t ruin your shot, and it should be well-lit with the light source in front of you to light up your face. As a guideline, the script for the 24-second film that you watched earlier only contains about 75 words, so think carefully about which words are the most important. Shock tactics are generally ineffective when it comes to changing people’s behaviour, so try to avoid graphic descriptions of road crash deaths or injuries in your videos. It’s better to focus on the benefits of safe and healthy transport if you want to have a real impact. Remember, your video can be 24 seconds long at most! Send any entries to project24@brake.org.uk along with the entry form found on the Brake website. The best entries will be published on the brake.org.uk website to celebrate their work. Winners and five runners-up will be chosen and featured in a press release. There will also be prizes for schools and individuals. Explain how your school will be able to support them with production of their films. Move to next slide

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Slide 11 What else can you do? Explain to students that if they are interested in doing more to support Brake’s campaigns for safe and healthy mobility for all, there is a lot they can do to help. They can: Talk about road safety - in class, at home, at school council meetings, in youth groups Fundraise for a road safety charity – this can be enormous fun while also raising much-needed funds for a good cause. You could take part in an abseil or zipslide, organise a sponsored run or talent evening, or anything else you can think of. Check out the Brake website for more inspiration. Become a first aider – explain that this is an excellent life skill to have (and may also help them if they are involved with, for example, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme or equivalent) Find out about organisations around the world that are taking part in road safety initiatives Move to next slide

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Slide 12 Thanks for listening Thank your students for listening. Remind them that when it comes to road safety they can make a difference and they have important roles to play as advocates for road safety. They can be good role models and can get involved with organisations that are campaigning for road safety initiatives both at home and at a global level. If you have a school council ask their representatives to discuss the issues raised in this assembly at their next meeting and to suggest ideas for how they could get more involved in local road safety initiatives. Remind them of key staff that can support them with their competition entry and where to go to find out additional information. END