How can the safety of children and young people in road traffic be improved through digital means? Fraunhofer IVI answers this question on the basis of a simple assumption: schoolchildren have to be confronted with real accident scenarios in their immediate surroundings to heighten their awareness of danger situations. The aim of the educational project is to prevent accidents from occurring through precautionary behaviour. To this end, the Fraunhofer IVI uses the possibilities of smart data: from the accident databases of authorities – based on the geographical location of the participating school – tailor-made data are extracted and made available to the schoolchildren for their project work. This educational approach particularly relies on sharpening young people’s awareness of the role of weaker road users. Thus they learn, for instance, that even when they behave correctly there is still the risk of an accident occurring, and the misconduct of others has to be factored in. A special focus is on school kids aged 13 to 15, a group that is still neglected in road safety education.
With its accident prevention project, Fraunhofer IVI shows how the intelligent use of smart data can improve road safety education and make road traffic safer.