Introduction
During 15th – 24th November 2008 the STEM Agency (Centre of Emiprical Research) has executed for the Ministry of Transport – Road Safety Department (BESIP) an exclusive quantitative research on opinions and attitudes of a representative group of secondary school students, participating on The Action Project during a period 2006 – 2008. 629 respondents from 29 secondary schools across the whole Czech Republic were involved in the research. The aim of this survey was to let us know the opinions of this target group of young people on The Action performance.The Road Safety Department´s aim was to make out if the performance stayed in mind of its partipants, what was interesting for them and last but not least how the participants judge it and if the performance infuenced them.
Basic Observations
- Real stories, video clips , photos from the real road traffic accidents and stories of persons from the Integrated Rescue System had the highest impact on the paticipants and in parallel they were the most interesting parts of the performance
- Asked students in principle accepted the form of this project and even the real and very hard shots from road traffic accidents were presented, they had no objections
- A big support (94 %) among secondary schools students has a creation a organisation of similar projects. More intensive call for projects similar to The Action can be seen among young women than among young men
- The secondary school students appreciate the project. The classification given to it by resondents is 1,5 ( A-)
Lesson Learned from The Action
- According this research the impact of The Action Project is very high. Almost all respondents learned more about the danger of road traffic accidents and consequences of irresponsible behaviour of drivers
- Three of four respondents think, that visiting The Action will have a permanent impact on their behaviour as road users
- Three quarters of respondents think, that thanks The Action Project, that they are awake of consequences of irresponsible behaviour of drivers and visiting the performance will have a permanent impact on the visitors
- Five quarters of respondents think that visiting The Acion Project influenced them in thems to be awake of consequences of irresponsible behaviour of drivers but without permanent impact to visitors themselves
- Only 6 % of respondents were not influenced by the project
- More permananent impact of the project can be seen among girls: 81 % of them think that the project will have a permanent impact on their behaviour as road users. 66 % of boys have the same opinion. Nevertheless a high proportion of successfully “hit” persons can bee seen
- Three quarters of the secondary school students with a driving licence drive more carefully after visiting The Action – they have changed their own driving manners. Four quarters of drivers asked changed their driving manner fundamentally
- Participation on The Action Project changed, as far as the foresight is concerned, more female drivers than male drivers
Younh People as Road Users
- Three quarters of students with a driving licence involved in the reasearch have no experience with driving under influence of alcohol or illicit drugs
- What is alarming is tha one fith of young drivers drove under influence of alcohol in the past (of which every second confessed more than one experience) and one tenth travelled under influence of illicit drugs (a half of them confessed more than one experience)
- 50 % of respondents confessed that they travellled with an influenced driver by alcohol or illicit drugs (and they know that he/she is under influence). One fourth of respondents confessed that they rode with an influenced driver more than one time.One third of respondents proclaimed that they will ride with influenced driver again
- In the group of respondents proclaiming that they travelled with an influenced driver more than one time are more often young men, older than 19 years, holding a driving licence and those participating in two and more road traffic accidents
- As can bee seen, to travel with and influenced driver will not refuse those respondents with an experience with an irresponsible drivers and those who did it more times in the past. Respondents travelling with a such driver only ones in the past stated that they will problably not repeat this travel again (85 %)
Evaluation of The Action Project by Selected Groups of Respondents
- The impact of The Action Project on young people is and will be very high. A big group of visitors learned a positive lessons, especially those who do not break rules and regulations and those who behave responsible
- But there is a group of young people, who consicually violate these rules (sometimes frequently) – for example they have an experience with driving undre influence of alcohol or illicit drugs, travelling with impaired driver frequently and they are able to do it again. The Action Project hit this group (which is not very big, fortunately), but less than the previous one (short – term impact, not very high level of lesson learned)
- Relative worse “mark” was given to the performance by those students, which even visiting the performance are not able to recognise a danger of road traffic accidents and presume that The Action projet will not have any impact on their own behaviour in long term (average mark 2,33 – B). Another group classificating the projectlittle bit worse were the students who either caused an road traffic accident or who were a victim of road traffic accident (average mark 1,78 – B +) and those respondents with an experience with travelling with an irresponsible driver saying that they will do so again (average mark 1,83 – B+)
- On the other hand better marks were given by sudents which are, thanks The Action Project, are able to recognise dangers of road traffic accidents more deeply and declare that the performance will have a permanet impact on their own behaviour (average mark 1,34 – A-), than those whose relative or friend was a victim of serious road traffic accident in the past (average mark 1,39 – A+) and students with personal experience travelling with an irresponsible driver but saying that they will not to do it again (average mark 1,37 – A -)
For more information visit The Action web site on www.theaction.eu