The Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCI) is launching the motorcycle
industry's youth education programme, 'LINKS -- Connecting Citizenship
and Road User Education' at the Education Show, from 9th-11th March at
the NEC.
'LINKS' is a comprehensive pack that has been produced to help teachers,
youth workers and anyone involved in education inform young people about
road safety issues. There are 12 units linked to the citizenship
syllabus which is a compulsory part of the current schools curriculum.
The units focus on a diverse range of topics including; human rights,
crime, law, the media and consumer rights and responsibilities.
Research carried out by the MCI revealed that there is a limited amount
of road safety education being taught to pupils aged 14-16 years. Half
of the teachers said they did offer road safety education, but some
stated that it was a one-off lesson that wasn't supported by a road
safety package.
The majority of the teachers who aren't offering road safety education
cited lack of time and relevant resources as the main reasons. However,
95.5% of the teachers claimed they would use a road safety education
resource that could be delivered through the citizenship curriculum.
These findings and the MCI's commitment to educating young people about
road safety issues that will lead to safer roads for all road users from
pedestrians to motorcyclists led to the development of the new
programme.
Produced as a CD-Rom, by the in-house expertise of the youth and safety
teams, teachers will receive a pack that outlines information on; how
road user education fits into the curriculum, learning strands, an
'ideas bank', task descriptions and assessments.
Around 4,500 secondary schools in the whole of the UK will be sent a
copy of the pack following its launch. Included will also be a copy of
the industry's DVD, 'Act Your Age', which educates young people about
road safety on two wheels.
Karen Cooke, MCI's Head of Motorcycle Safety said, "The industry has a
responsibility to help create safer roads for all road users. Young
people are vulnerable on the roads, so it is extremely important that
they are educated about the wide range of issues that affect them now
and in the future as they take to the roads.
"The citizenship curriculum provides the ideal platform for this type of
education as creating safer roads is a fundamental part of being a
responsible citizen. We are delighted that the majority of teachers
recognise this and they welcome a resource that can help them achieve
this. Our research has demonstrated that teachers want to educate on
this issue but need the resources. This is where we have stepped in to
provide them with a free product that could help to save more lives on
our roads."
