PAFSE Project in the media: Innovative Approach in Portuguese Schools: Commitment to Road Education and Road Accidents as a Public Health Priority
At the Góis School, an innovative approach is shaping the way road accidents are perceived. Far from being isolated incidents, they are seen as public health problems. This concept guides the work developed with 9th-grade students, where road education plays a central role. The PAFSE Project provides the necessary support, offering didactic and pedagogical materials for teachers to address road safety in schools.
Ana Paula Varela, a Physical Chemistry teacher, uses an interdisciplinary approach to raise awareness among students. Leveraging one of the curricular themes of the subject, she draws a direct connection between Newton’s Laws, forces, movements, and driving. Through this parallel, students understand how forces behave in collision cases, recognizing the importance of safety elements such as seat belts, headrests, helmets, airbags, and vehicle structures. Ana Paula emphasizes that this approach not only educates but also excites students, essential for fostering a culture of safety from an early age. The pedagogical resources on road safety developed in the PAFSE project allow students to acquire knowledge about this subject interactively and innovatively and contribute to promoting safer attitudes and behaviors in traffic.
However, raising awareness among students is not limited to theoretical classes. These serve as preparation for a practical challenge – the “BP, Safety to the Second,” developed by BP and other partners. In this challenge, students are challenged to create an original video that conveys a message about prevention and road safety, focusing on one of the five risk factors: excessive speed, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, using the mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and driving in a state of fatigue or tiredness. This video is presented to the community in an Open School initiative, to spread the message beyond the school walls. As the teacher explains, this initiative aims to involve the local community, increasing awareness of the importance of road safety, also one of the objectives of the PAFSE project.
The work developed at the Góis School stands out as an inspiring example of how education can be used not only to transmit knowledge but also to promote significant changes in society. By integrating road safety into the school curriculum and involving students in practical and community projects, seeds are being planted for a safer future on Portuguese roads.
