Road safety improvements for children inside and outside the schools in the Netherlands.

This contribution deals with the state of art in road safety education in the Netherlands, based on the year long experiences and expertise and vision of the Dutch Traffic Safety Association (VVN). Road safety education for children inside and outside school involves interaction between governmental authorities, schools, children, parents, police, and community organisations such as the VVN. The interaction between all these parties emerges clearly in the "We're going back to school" publicity campaign at the start of each new school year. The VVN also co-operates with other parties.What children must know and master during road safety education at primary level are: individual skills, social skills to behave responsibly in traffic, and social awareness concerning traffic and transport. In drawing up its teaching material the VVN operates on the basis of the following basic principles, that road safety education: (1) should be consistent with the pupils' development, experience, and needs; (2) is systematic; (3) is practical; (4) is relevant; (5) is the joint school and parents' concern; (6) is affected by parents' wishes; and (7) road safety education must be fun. A number of road safety education materials/methods are listed. An important question asked is how to involve parents in road safety education for their child. Another VVN topic is making children responsible for their own safety.