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.”
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Editor’s Notes
For more information or photos please contact Samantha at the MCI Press Office
Tel: 02476 250809
Mobile: 07769 681166,
email samantha@mcia.co.uk or
MCI Director of Public Affairs Craig Carey-Clinch:
07979 757484 or craig@mcia-pa.com
More press releases, industry statistics and photos are available on the website www.mcia.co.uk