Author(s)

S. Basbas & A. Kokkalis

Abstract

The need to provide a safe environment for vulnerable road users in the road network is essential when considering the land-use system and the transportation system in an area. This need is more important in the case of students due to the fact that they are not always in the position to easily realize the danger of the road traffic and thus take the necessary precautionary measures. In the framework of this paper the results of a research concerning high school students' perception of the level of traffic safety provided in school areas are presented. Students in high schools (first to third grade) participated in a questionnaire-based survey in the Municipalities of Kalamaria and Larissa, Greece. The perception of the traffic safety level in the vicinity of schools, the reasons for which students feel unsafe, their knowledge of the Highway Code, their participation in traffic education events, their opinion about the traffic calming measures and the transport modes used for the trips to and from schools are examined and presented in this paper. Keywords: traffic safety, safety behaviour, perceptions, high school students. 1 Introduction Traffic accidents are an important problem in most countries all over the world. An estimated 1.17 million deaths occur each year worldwide due to road accidents, where 65% of deaths involve pedestrians and 35% of pedestrian deaths are children. The need to provide a safe environment for the vulnerable road users in the road network is essential when considering the land-use system and the transportation system in an area. This need is more important in the case of students due to the fact that they are not always in the position to easily realize

Keywords

traffic safety, safety behaviour, perceptions, high school students.