Sheffield City Council has worked with the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to develop and extend road safety education in schools within the city. The objectives were to raise the awareness of road safety and establish road safety education within the curriculum, to provide in-service training, and to coordinate the work of agencies and individuals with responsibilities for road safety education. The experience suggests that the responsibility for initiating and developing contacts with schools about road safety education should remain with the Local Authority road safety officers. It is vital that they preserve close relationships with the major organisations providing advisory services to schools. Close liaison schools. Close liaison between the Road Safety Office and South Yorkshire Police is now formally and firmly established and road safety education training is a joint venture. Road safety should be taught within the wider context of safety education but it can also support and enrich the teaching of most other subjects. To be effective, and for progression to be achieved, road safety needs to be drip fed throughout the curriculum, with pupils receiving small but frequent and regular inputs which give purpose and meaning to their work, whatever the subject. School based courses and workshops for teachers proved to be the best way to raise awareness. Centre based courses were useful for extending established good practice. (A)
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