LESSON PLAN

Age

11-14Key Stage 3

Age

14-16Key Stage 4

Ref

: TR

C04

6

Dealing with distractionsLearning objectives

For students to:

• look at how distractions increase risks for all road users

• identify what they need to pay attention to, in order to stay safer as a pedestrian, cyclist or driver (when they are able to drive legally)

• identify what things may distract them when they are using the roads

• identify what things may distract drivers, which may prevent them from seeing pedestrians and cyclists

• learn how they can minimise distractions to stay safer.

Curriculum links

England: National Curriculum Key Stage 3

Introduction •Citizenship/PSHE

•English: 2.1, 2.2

England: National Curriculum Key Stage 4

Introduction •Citizenship/PSHE

•English: 1.2, 2.1

Age

11-14Key Stage 3

Age

14-16Key Stage 4

Resources required

THINK! resources can be downloaded or ordered from the THINK! Resource Centre at http://think.direct.gov.uk/resource-centre

School •Computers with internet access and Windows XP

THINK! •Three videos that can be downloaded or use an internet link:

•Video:Cameraphone(Ref:TRC131)(thefirstfilminthereel)

•Video: Mobile phones: split screen (Ref: TRC134)

•Case study: Ghosts (Ref: TRC072)

•Casestudy:Tuneintotraffic(Ref:TRC073)

•Picture: Crossing the road (Ref: TRC121)

•Game: Driving challenge (Ref: TRC085)

•Poster: Two things at once (Ref: TRC122)

•Activity sheet: Disappearing act (Ref: TRC052)

Inthislesson,studentsexplorearangeofdistractionsviamediacampaignsandworksheets,andreflecton how these could contribute to road incidents. They think about how they can minimise distractions to stay safer on the roads.

Introducing the theme

Use advertisements to introduce the theme of pedestrian distraction to students.

Time •5 minutes

Resources •Video:Cameraphone(Ref:TRC131)(thefirstfilminthereel)

•Case study: Ghosts (Ref: TRC072)

As an introduction, show the ‘Camera phone’ video, which focuses on pedestrian distraction. This video is hard-hitting, so teachers are advised to use this with older students and only after previewing it to assess suitability for their class. It uses camera-phone-style footage to show a group of young people messing about and enjoying themselves as they walk down a street. As one of the group crosses the road they are not concentrating and are hit by a passing car.

After the students have seen the advert, give them these questions to consider. Allow them to watch it a second time if they need to: •What is the cause of the accident?

•How could it have been avoided?

•What is good about the advert?

•Why might this be effective?

• Is there anything you’d change/improve?

Age

11-14Key Stage 3

Age

14-16Key Stage 4

Activity 1: Why do you need to concentrate on the roads?

Group discussion to help students think about why pedestrians and cyclists need to concentrate, and not be distracted when they’re using the roads.

Time •10 minutes

Resources •Picture: Crossing the road (Ref: TRC121)

Display the ‘Crossing the road’ picture, showing a busy street scene, with parked cars, and a right turn. Ask students to work in groups to list all the things that they should do when walking along the left of the road shown, crossing it and turning right, or when cycling along the road and turning right. Older students may also think about driving a car or riding a motorcycle down the road. They should break the task down into small steps. (Pedestrians: Watch out for cars reversing from drive ways, watch out for other pedestrians on the pavement, check that there is no one in the parked cars before standing on the road between them, and that the cars on the opposite side of the roadarenotabouttomoveoff,checkingbothwaysfortraffic,continuingtolookandlistenastheycross.Cyclists:Watch out for pedestrians crossing between parked cars, watch out for doors of parked cars opening into the road, use appropriate signals to turn right.)

Discuss students’ ideas, which will show how complex these everyday tasks are to highlight the degree of concentration they need to be done safely.

Activity 2: What impact does distraction have?

Use an interactive game to help students understand how drivers can be distracted and miss certain objects/people in their line of vision when driving.

Time •10 minutes

Resources •Computers with internet access and Windows XP

•Game: Driving challenge (Ref: TRC085)

If a suite of computers is available, ask students to complete the ‘Driving challenge’. In this game, users are put in the position of a driver, trying to concentrate on what is happening on the road while listening to a mobile phone conversation. This is suitable for all ages.

Students are given the task of observing a driving sequence from the viewpoint of the car driver. They must total up points related to the colour of the tee-shirts worn by pedestrians crossing in front of them and also respond to a mobile phone conversation by pressing the keyboard space bar at appropriate points. If doing the test with a whole class, just ask them to make a mark on a piece of paper so that they can tally their responses once the clip has completed.

Do not discuss this with the students before they view the clip, but during the sequence a person in a rabbit suit walksintotheroadandwavestothedriver.Again,veryfewspotthisfirsttime.

Even though the focus of this activity is on car drivers, the point that it makes about distraction applies to all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. It is also useful for students to understand that as well as realising that they can be distracted themselves, as pedestrians and cyclists, drivers can be distracted too, and they can’t

Age

11-14Key Stage 3

Age

14-16Key Stage 4

always rely on them to see them when they are out and about.

After playing the game, ask students how they did, and discuss what they learnt from the game: •Werestudentssurprisedbyhowdifficultitistoconcentrateontwothingsatonce?

•What can they learn as pedestrians and cyclists from this game? (That distractions such as mobile phones canmakeitdifficultforyoutoconcentrateontheroad,whetheryou’readriver,acyclistorapedestrian,thatalthough they should be concentrating, some drivers may be distracted, so you can’t rely on them to see pedestrians and cyclists.)

•Who spotted the rabbit? Who didn’t? A lot of people don’t, which shows how distracting it can be to try to do more than one thing at once.

Activity 3: What distracts pedestrians?

Group discussion to raise awareness of what can distract pedestrians when on or near the road.

Time •5 minutes

Resources •Computers with internet access and Windows XP

•Game: Driving challenge (Ref: TRC085)

Discuss with the class what could distract pedestrians (aside from talking or texting on a mobile phone) when they are using the road as either a cyclist or a pedestrian? For example:•being in a rush

•talking with friends

•thinking deeply about something else / day dreaming

• listening to music/using an MP3 player

AlthoughmobilephonesandMP3playerscanbeabigdistraction,thebiggestdistractionsareoftenthefirst three things listed above.

Ask how students will make sure they are not distracted when using the road?

Activity 4: Driver distraction

Use a short road safety video or poster advertisement to understand distractions from a driver’s point of view.

Time •10 minutes

Resources •Computer with internet access

•Video: Mobile phones: split screen (Ref: TRC134)

•Poster: Two things at once (Ref: TRC122)

The ‘Split screen’ video is hard-hitting. It is recommended that it should only be used with older students and the teacher should preview the video before using it in the classroom. Consideration must be made of those students whomayhavebeenaffectedbyaroadtrafficincident.

The video shows a split screen with a man driving home, whilst his partner is at home, who has phoned him. The driver is saying to his partner that he will tell her all about his day when he gets home, but she carries on

Age

11-14Key Stage 3

Age

14-16Key Stage 4

talking. The driver is using a hand-held mobile phone and it shows clearly that the driver is distracted by the conversationandthereisacollision.Thefinalsceneshowsthemanslumpedinthecarwithhiswifedistraught at the other end of the telephone.

Showstudentsthe‘Twothingsatonce’poster,whichshowshowdifficultitistoconcentrateontwothingsatthe same time to make the point that using a mobile phone while driving causes a distraction. This is suitable for students of all ages.

Askstudentstodiscussthefilm’sorposter’simpact:•Who is the advertisement aimed at?

• Is it effective at communicating a road safety message?

•Could it be improved?

•What other formats could advertisers use to make this point? (e.g. a radio or TV advertisement where two people talk at once, a game which requires you to do two things at once).

•Willitchangethewaythestudentsthinkaboutroadsafety?Howwillitdoso?Willtheytrytoinfluenceothers(for example parents or older brothers and sisters who are drivers) to be safer?

Activity 5: What things may distract drivers, and what can pedestrians and cyclists do to make it more likely that they’ll be seen?

Time •15 minutes

Resources •Activity sheet: Disappearing act (Ref: TRC052)

Students view a road scene on the ‘Disappearing act’ activity sheet, seen from the viewpoint of a car driver. Theyarepromptedtothinkaboutallthevariousdistractionsthatmaymakeitdifficultforthedrivertoseecyclists,pedestrians and generally concentrate on driving. Think also about obstructions that might block a driver’s view. Give time for students to work in groups to identify the distractions and suggest actions they could take to be morevisibletodrivers.Summarisethefindings.

Distractions to the driver could include: •being in a rush

•talking with people in the car

•thinking deeply about something else/day dreaming

• listening to music/adjusting the car radio

•receiving a phone call or texting on a mobile phone (which is illegal)

•a mobile phone ringing

•a baby, toddler or young child in the car

•people and animals on the street

•shops, signs and advertising on the street

•satellite navigation.

Age

11-14Key Stage 3

Age

14-16Key Stage 4

Obstructions could include: • items in the car, e.g. dangling toys or air fresheners

•parked cars, post boxes etc.

•satellite navigation devices stuck to the windscreen.

Actions that could be taken to be more visible and safer road users include: •wearing light or brightly-coloured clothing (especially in the hours of darkness)

•pedestrians crossing and zebra crossings

•pedestriansobservingtrafficbeforecrossingtheroad(evenatazebracrossing)

•cyclistswearingahighvisibilityjacket(lightsandreflectivestripswhendark)

•cyclists using proper observations before making a manoeuvre.

Activity 6: Reflection

Time •5 minutes

Resources •None

Discuss if students take these actions when they are using the roads. If not, then why not? What could change their behaviour to become safer road users?

Extension activities:

Use a case study to help students understand how road safety advertisements get messages across to the audience.

Time •Variable

Resources •Casestudy:Tuneintotraffic(Ref:TRC073)

Ask students to think about what strategies the advertisements that they have seen use to get their message across. How effective are they? Looking at their lists of pedestrian and driver distractions, which areas are well covered? Which areas are less often the focus of campaigns? What subjects would students cover if they were producing similar campaign materials?

Students may be interested to look at the road safety campaign driven by a young person, Manpreet Darroch, asoutlinedintheTuneintotrafficcasestudy.Hisfocusisonthedistractioncausedbypedestriansusing MP3 players. •Do students feel that they are more likely to take note of a young person telling them what to do?

•How do Manpreet’s videos compare to the others in terms of effectiveness?

•How could his ideas be used in other areas of road safety?

• Is his campaign less effective because it only focuses on one form of distraction (and not the biggest distraction for teenage pedestrians)?

•What do students think is the biggest distraction for teenage pedestrians?