Overview
Child judges on a Kids’ Court learn about road safety in an active, memorable way. When they practice and discuss their roles at home, the lessons reach mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends. As judges, they become empowered and learn confdence. The hearings’ immediacy and personal accountability surprise drivers, and the encounter is not easily forgotten. The experience connects police, children, drivers, and the wider community in a way that benefts all. And afterwards, everyone has a story to tell, spreading road safety messages far and wide.
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KIDS' COURT FOR ROAD SAFETY EMPOWER CHILDREN, HOLD ADULTS ACCOUNTABLE, SAVE LIVES Through the Kids' Court programme, children are trained to be road safety judges. Reckless drivers are stopped outside schools, brought directly into the court, questioned by the child judges, and required to pledge to drive safely. The resulting road safety messages spread through communities. EMPOWER CHILDREN, HOLD ADULTS ACCOUNTABLE, SAVE LIVES Through the Kids' Court programme, children are trained to be road safety judges. Reckless drivers are stopped outside schools, brought directly into DO YOU KNOW YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ONE OF US? KIDS' COURT FOR ROAD SAFETY Kids' Court is a programme that empowers schoolchildren to question and educate reckless drivers, in person, on the spot. Common of ences include: Speeding Failing to use a seat belt Using a mobile phone while driving Failing to stop at a zebra crossing This Kids' Court programme was developed by Amend, with the support of UKAid and the High Volume Transport Applied Research Programme. HOW IT WORKS: Primary schoolchildren learn local road safety lessons and laws. Next, they participate in a two-day training on how to act as judges and teach road safety in Kids' Court; On designated court days, local traf c police, partnering with the Kids' Court programme, stop reckless drivers outside the school where the court is in session; Rather than paying a f ne, an apprehended driver is required to enter the school and face the Kids' Court; The Kids' Court judges, all of them schoolchildren, question the driver about the traf c law they just broke. The judges outline road safety laws, emphasise the potential real-life consequences of reckless driving, and ask the driver to write a pledge to change their behaviour; If the children are happy with the pledge, they allow drivers to leave. If the children are not happy, they continue to ask questions until the driver makes a satisfactory pledge; Children are engaged and empowered. Lessons are learned. Connections are made. Education is spread. Lives are saved. WELCOME TO KIDS' COURT " " " I felt good because we were here judging the drivers. They were scared, and I also thought I would be afraid of them. But no: I managed to judge them, and they left learning new things." This programme has a psychological impact on drivers. When they come out of the Kids' Court, they are different." Being questioned by kids felt really bad, and I was ashamed of myself. Is it correct to learn from people whom we are supposed to teach and protect?" 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL JUDGE, ESCOLA PRIMÁRIA COMPLETA GUEBO, Maputo, Mozambique POLICE OFFICER, Maputo, Mozambique DRIVER, Maputo, Mozambique KIDS' COURT FOR ROAD SAFETY Child judges on a Kids' Court learn about road safety in an active, memorable way. When they practice and discuss their roles at home, the lessons reach mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends. As judges, they become empowered and learn confdence. The hearings' immediacy and personal accountability surprise drivers, and the encounter is not easily forgotten. The experience connects police, children, drivers, and the wider community in a way that benefts all. And afterwards, everyone has a story to tell, spreading road safety messages far and wide. A recent evaluation1 showed that Kids Court is: An efective way to supplement conventional school road safety lessons, increasing road safety awareness among those children who participate; An efective way to positively infuence the attitudes of drivers towards key road safety risk factors; Popular with those involved in its implementation — children, drivers, teachers, and police ofcers as well as with parents and caregivers; Efective at disseminating road safety messages beyond those directly involved and into the wider community; Efective at empowering children to talk about road safety with their families and friends; Replicable — teachers and police ofcers believe that they can work together to implement Kids' Court programs with minimal support from Amend. (1) Amend, Kids' Court road safety interventions: Their impact on knowledge, attitudes and practices in Maputo, Mozambique, Version 2.0, 13th May 2019 RESULTS AND RIPPLE EFFECTS Amend is an award-winning, international, not-forprofi t organisation focused on injury prevention, health, and urban development. Since our founding in 2006, we have become leaders in evidence-based interventions that reduce the incidence of road tra� c injury among the most vulnerable road users in sub-Saharan Africa today — while working to create environments for long-term, sustainable safety for the future. The High Volume Transport Applied Research Programme (HVT), which is funded by UK Aid delivered by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), is updating vital transport research that reduces poverty and develops economies. The aim of the programme is to make transport safer, greener, more a� ordable, accessible, and inclusive in low-income countries in Africa and South Asia. The programme is managed by IMC Worldwide Ltd. KIDS' COURT FOR ROAD SAFETY FROM THE UK TO AFRICA AND AROUND THE WORLD In the mid-2010s, Kids' Court was started by schools in the UK and met with positive results and media attention. Africa has the highest rate of road deaths of all of the world's regions. Mozambique has a higher rate of road deaths than the average for Africa. Child pedestrians are among the most vulnerable groups of road users. Soon after Kids' Court got underway in the UK, Texel Cossa, in Amend's Mozambique of ce, heard about the idea and piloted the programme in the country's capital, Maputo. Next, the DFID-funded High Volume Transport Programme supported Amend's qualitative evaluation of the programme at f ve primary schools in Maputo. This evaluation determined the programme's effectiveness. Among the benefits, the evaluation revealed an 18% increase in road safety knowledge among children who acted as judges, which is multiplied within those children's communities. The programme was proven and ready for application around the world. Since then, Neema Swai, in Amend's Tanzania of ce, adapted Kids' Court to Dar es Salaam, where it has been well received by schoolchildren, teachers, administrators, parents, police, and communities overall. Plans are also underway to adapt Kids' Court to Malawi. Currently, the programme is evolving in Tanzania, with the creation of a Kids' High Court. Child judges on the High Court call before them not drivers but the government of cials, engineers, contractors, and donor partners who design and build roads. The aim of the Kids' High Court is to ensure that children's needs are taken into account in all road infrastructure projects. Amend believes that a city designed for children will be a city that is safe for all. KIDS' COURT HISTORY For more information, contact Tom Bishop at Amend: tbishop@amend.org HIGH VOLUME TRANSPORT APPLIED RESEARCH PROGRAMME www.hvt.preview.consideredcreative.com @amendroadsafety @AmendRoadSafety @Amend www.amend.org