In 2007 the Royal Automobile Club Queensland, Australia idenfiied the need for road safety education where there was a gap for younger students of school age in Queensland. The Road Safety Education Team was created to develop and devilver road safety program for school studens and older drivers.
The flagship program of the team is the Streets Ahead Program, delivered to nearly 20 000 young people a year since its inception.
About RACQ
The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland – the RACQ – was formed in 1905. Today it is the State’s peak motoring organisation, representing the interests of almost 1.2 million members.
The Club provides a wide range of motoring, travel and other services and benefits – ranging from 24-hour roadside assistance and car and home insurance to shopping discounts and finance – to members and their families.
The Road Safety Education Team at RACQ has evolved over the years and is now known as the Education Team, sitting within the broader department of Community and Education. We now deliver and sponsor road safety programs that cover the full spectrum of road use, from early primary school, through to late high school and older drivers. Our aim is to contribute to the reduction of injuries and fatalities on Queensland roads by providing relevant, age appropriate and effective road safety education.
The Streets Ahead program in action – reaching students across Queensland.
Example of activities
The RACQ’s Streets Ahead program is a road safety education program for Queensland primary schools. The Streets Ahead program comprises four level-appropriate presentations covering road safety themes including passenger, pedestrian and bicycle safety. The program offers a fresh, interactive and effective approach to road safety education.
Crossing Capers Level 1 (Prep and Year 1)
Students can learn how to identify and use a variety of pedestrian crossings safely. They can experience and practise the correct ways to cross busy roads in the safety and comfort of their own classroom using the specially designed RACQ road mat.
Students will discover what the ‘safety door’ is and why it is important. They can also investigate what makes a safe and smart passenger.
Safety Smart Level 2 (Year 2 and 3)
Students cover all aspects of road safety in this fast-paced interactive presentation. They can learn and remember how to cross roads safely, be a safe passenger and identify what to wear when riding a bike.Students will role-play correct behaviours, experiment with helmets and seatbelts, and participate in plenty of discussions.
Bike Wise Level 3 (Year 4 and 5)
It’s time students to learn how to be safe cyclists. Students will investigate and discover what elements are needed to make a safe cyclist…clothing, equipment, behaviour, road rules?
Students will also experiment with Crunch to identify the effects of wearing and not wearing a seatbelt, as well as learn the causes and dangers of distraction.
The Streets Ahead Mascot makes learning more engaging and enjoyable.
Play It Safe Level 4 (Year 6 and 7)
Roll-up, roll-up…and join in the fun of the ‘Who Wants to be Safety Smart?’ game show. Students will review their knowledge of pedestrian, passenger and cyclist safety through three rounds of interactive questions and experiments.
With Crunch’s help, students will strengthen their knowledge of road safety, identify possible bad habits and ways to avoid them, and revise essential road safety concepts.
Our reason for focusing on young people
The traffic environment around schools is one of the most complex traffic environments regularly encountered by children. Young people are not always equipped with the skills to deal with environments like these, which increases the risk of road crash incidents. At RACQ we believe that the safety of students travelling to and from school is one of the most important issues for school communities.
Schools play an important role in developing responsible attitudes and hazard appreciation skills in children towards the use of the road and traffic environment as pedestrians, cyclists, car passengers and in the latter stages of school as drivers. However, it is important that parents and the community also share this role.
Sharing simple messages to young people helps them to be safer on the road.
In 2007 the Royal Automobile Club Queensland, Australia idenfiied the need for road safety education where there was a gap for younger students of school age in Queensland. The Road Safety Education Team was created to develop and devilver road safety program for school studens and older drivers.