The Impact of COVID-19 on Traffic Safety and Mobility Education

30 January 2021

In a report was published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), the Flemish Foundation for Traffic Knowledge (VSV) and Fundación MAPFRE on 24 January to coincide with the third UNESCO International Day of Education the authors show that road safety education should evolve to reflect changes in mobility that have been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, such as a preference for walking and cycling to school, according to this report.

The theme of this year’s event was ‘ Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation’.

The report expresses concern that as schools switched to distance learning in 2020, fewer children received traffic safety and mobility education compared to previous years - as a result of a need to focus on teaching and catching up on core subjects.However, ETSC says innovative delivery methods developed by educators during this time could lead to improved outcomes in the future.

The report notes that road safety educational materials have become increasingly digitised in response to the pandemic, and these resources are being actively promoted to schools, teachers and parents. Several countries and organisations have established digital platforms where the educational material is collated and presented, while in others teacher training was held virtually.