Traffic First?

Traffic First?

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Overview of Traffic units

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Traffic First? - An overview to help planning with traffic as a topic

Traffic First? is complementary to the Scottish Executive's STREETSENSE initiative, expanding upon the vital area of road safety into other issues concerning the sustainability of our traffic systems.

In these packs are 4 differentiated pupil workbooks with accompanying Leaders’ Notes, plus extension materials for pupils in all topic areas. There are worksheets on mapping, route planning, speeding and stopping, parking problems and an illustrated glossary. Two games - Bus Driver and Chewburgh Town - can both can be used to reinforce the learning, and as an assessment tool.

A range of surveys are included : the resources and worksheets are differentiated to suit all ages and abilities. These focus on quantity, colour and type of traffic, the number of cars with and without passengers and how pedestrians use crossings.

The Traffic First? pack includes a CD-rom with high resolution files for reproduction. Please contact the centre to order: £25.00 + p&p. (Aberdeen City Schools each have a reference pack previously issued.)

Leader's (Teacher's) Notes include the Pupils' Workbook at reduced size, together with guidance notes, curriculum links and extension ideas. The downloadable files (below) contain sample pages only.

Level A
Leader's Notes
pdf 692kb

Level B
Leader's Notes
pdf 804kb

Level C
Leader's Notes
pdf 804kb

Level D/E
Leader's Notes
pdf 768kb

Assessment
Beyond Level C

Professor David A Begg, Director of The Centre for Transport Policy,
followed the development of Traffic First? and writes:

"Traffic is a growing problem in our towns and cities. We already have the worst congestion in Europe and it is causing increasing disruption to our daily lives.

Our health, our environment, our quality of life and our very economic well-being is threatened by the problems that a growing dependence on the car is causing.

There are two certainties in this.
The first is that if nothing is done about the problem our quality of life will worsen still further.
And the second is that we cannot build our way out of the problem – the centres of our towns and cities do not have the space for new roads or car parks.

I welcome the introduction of Traffic First? and its contribution to raising awareness of the political, economic, social and environmental importance of the way we travel.

Pupils need to understand the issues which are going to shape and impact on their future lives.

Traffic First? is important to every pupil in the UK and should find its way into the curriculum of every school."

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Traffic First? Extension Units
	Vehicle Design Some vehicles have been designed to do certain jobs, to travel long distances, to carry goods, animals and passengers. Pupils get the opportunity to draw vehicles from all angles, name and identify parts and even try designing vehicles for specific purposes, for travelling on different surfaces and for the future.
	Road Safety Safety is always a priority when working out of doors. Set rules are discussed, pupils are encouraged to add extra rules applicable to their immediate environment and to design posters to illustrate them. Out in the streets we look at the road signs around the school. The number of signs, their positions and meanings are all discussed as well as the implications of drivers disobeying them.
	Speed Kills The dangers of speed, how traffic calming measures reduce speed, and other safety measures to protect pedestrians.
	Pedestrian Safety The increase in the number of vehicles on our roads has had an impact on pedestrian safety. We investigate brightly coloured, reflective and fluorescent clothing and footwear and encourage children to be more aware of the markings on their jackets and shoes. Pavements should be safe places for pedestrians but we can still find many hazards here. Children look at street furniture designed specifically for pedestrian safety. Road safety, the different types of crossings and the importance of our senses are all covered.
	Traffic Game The Chewburgh Game (materials enclosed in Traffic First? pack) provides opportunities for pupils to demonstrate their understanding of the ideas contained in Traffic First? It is best played near the end of a programme of work.
	Congestion With more and more traffic using our roads this inevitably happens. Linking this to our traffic surveys, we discuss what this means, where might all the traffic be coming from and going to and suggest alternative methods of getting about. How can we plan for less congestion in town centres? Pupils get the opportunity to explore this further.
	Using Buses How to use route maps, timetables and fare stage tables.
	Noise What kind of noises are we surrounded by every day? How much noise comes from the traffic around us? We consider noises we like and do not like, brainstorm in groups and then write “noisy” poems. With noise comes vibrations and we can conduct a simple experiment to check this out.
	Air Pollution Suggestions for simple but effective ways of monitoring of pollution levels are included in this pack. Pupils compare the areas next to busy traffic routes with others further away. They are encouraged to carry out easy but effective experiments, using simple, everyday equipment to find out the extent of pollution. Will they find a marked difference?
	Parking Is parking a problem around your school ? This unit takes a look at how parking is controlled, and some of the possible alternatives and solutions.
	Creating a Time Line The use of a Time Line follows the development of vehicles through several centuries. Pupils are asked to differentiate between old and new modes of transport, put them into chronological order and to do an investigative study on one vehicle from the past. Vehicles in the past can also be investigated and compared by using a questionnaire and interviewing elderly people.

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