TRAFFIC AND PEDESTRIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM--A SAFETY PROGRAM FOR THE YOUNG

In 1969 the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles received a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant to develop a pedestrian safety program for pre-literate children. This resulted in the development of an audio/visual program in a cartoon format utilizing 35mm filmstrips and tape cassettes. The program was the Traffic And Pedestrian Education System or TAPES. The Department of Motor Vehicles placed one hundred sets in selected schools across the State to gauge parent and teacher reaction to the program and measure its effect on children exposed to it. In all, 5,942 children were exposed to the program during this project, and a questionnaire was sent to parents or guardians of each child. Also, 169 teachers participated in the project and each of these was sent a questionnaire. Pictorial safety quizzes were conducted on a sample of the exposed children and a control group to measure the effect of the program on the children's knowledge of good traffic safety practices. Some of the more noteworthy results of the project were: (1) A majority (80%) of the parents or guardians of children exposed to the TAPES program reported an increased awareness of traffic safety on the child's part. Of these, 83% felt the program was at least partly responsible. (2) A majority of the teachers reported that the program had a positive effect on the children's attitude and behavior toward safe pedestrian practices (86% and 79% respectively). (3) A majority (94%) of the teachers responding felt that the TAPES program was an effective instrument for teaching safety principles to their students. (4) Children exposed to TAPES demonstrated a significantly greater degree of knowledge about pedestrian safety than children not exposed to the program.

• Corporate Authors:

  New York State Department of Motor Vehicles

  Governor Nelson A Rockefeller Empire State Plaza
  Albany, NY  United States  12228
• Authors:
  • Bostick, C W
  • McNaughton, D J
  • Hughes, D L
• Publication Date: 1975-11

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Tables;
• Pagination: 95 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Awareness; Behavior; Children; Measures of effectiveness; Parents; Pedestrian safety; Questionnaires; Teachers; Traffic safety education
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00452413
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-039 282
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1986 12:00AM