Promoting Safe Behavior in Traffic: an Intervention Report

Abstract

This article aims to report a Traffic Psychology intervention that sought to raise awareness about important traffic features involved in everyday life among young students. Developed to be implemented in the Career Expo at the Universidade Federal do Paraná, the pilot project Meu Primeiro Certificado UFPR (My first UFPR Certificate) consisted of four stands strategically positioned along the expo, each approaching one of the following themes: pedestrian’s use of mobile phone, seat belt, bicycle use, and travelling with a drunk driver. The students received the material to participate in the activity upon entering the expo; for each visited stand, they received a stamp and, after completing the four stands, they received a certificate. The project was offered to 2674 high school students (68.7% female; 72.3% of whom studied in public schools) aged between 14 and 19 years (M = 16.59); among these, 924 visited all stands and received the certificate. The intervention program was relevant due to its wide reach, as a considerable amount of students showed interest in visiting the stands and talking about the presented topics, with 75% of them rating the project as excellent.

Keywords:
Traffic Psychology; Prevention; Extension; Accident; Risk