RiAus PDplus low level speeding notes - Years 7-9

The science and myths of low level speeding

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About the guide r

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Introduction to the guide RiAus PDplus Teacher Notes is a new initiative of RiAus that has been designed to assist middle school (Years 7 – 9) teachers engage and involve their students.

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ou rc Created by Sally Parker Editor Heather Catchpole Designer Fiona MacDonald Editor-in-Chief Wilson da Silva Publisher Kylie Ahern

The notes supplement a PDplus presentation hosted by RiAus on science and myths of low level speeding, which will allow teachers to have access and put questions to scientists about their research and careers.

The RiAus PDplus Teacher Notes publication is produced by COSMOS magazine for the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus).

See the RiAus website for further details and footage. www.riaus.org.au

This resource is made possible thanks to support from:

Other RiAus PDplus Teacher Notes

Food Security, Synthetic Biology, The Square Kilometre Array and The World Solar Challenge. These PDplus Teacher Notes are available on the RiAus website: http://riaus.org.au/programs/our-projects/riaus-pdplus

How to use the guide The notes offer both variety and flexibility of use for the differentiated classroom.

Teachers and students can choose to use all or any of the five sections – although it is recommended to use them in sequence, and all or a few of the activities within each section.

© 2012 COSMOS Media Pty Ltd, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner or form for commercial purposes or outside of an educational setting. COSMOS, The Science of Everything™ is protected by trademarks in Australia and the USA. This guide was first published on 1 February 2012.

The ‘FIVE Es’ Model The guide will employ the ‘Five Es’ instructional model designed by Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, an educational research group in Colorado, USA. It has been found to be extremely effective in engaging students in learning science and technology. It follows a constructivist or inquiry based approach to learning, in which students build new ideas on top of the information they have acquired through previous experience.

Its components are:

Engage Students are asked to make connections between past and present learning experiences and become fully engaged in the topic to be learned.

Explore Students actively explore the concept or topic being taught. It is an informal process where the students should have fun manipulating ideas or equipment and discovering things about the topic.

Explain This is a more formal phase where the theory behind the concept is taught. Terms are defined and explanations given to models and theories.

Elaborate Students develop a deeper understanding of sections of the topic.

Evaluate Teacher and students evaluate what they have learned in each section.

Useful Websites Motor Accident Commision http://www.mac.sa.gov.au/

Transport statistics http://www.bitre.gov.au/info.aspx?NodeId=167

The University of Adelaide Centre for Automotive Safety Research http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/

Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/roadsafety

Street smart campaign for seniors http://www.raa.com.au/page.aspx?TerID=953

Road crash facts http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/roadsafety/road_crash_facts/ sa_crashes

Road safety http://www.raa.com.au/page.aspx?TerID=1224

Road safety timeline http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/dbtw-wpd/Timeline/timelinesearch.htm

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Backgrounder

The science of speeding What does driving a car safely have to do with science? A lot - scientific principles determine how a car will move and react in different situations, and can help researchers understand how crashes can be avoided. Here is some of the science behind road safety.

Energy Energy is the ability to do work. Any organism or machine that does work needs an energy source. Energy can be measured in units called joules (J). One joule of energy is used to lift a 100 gram mass one metre.

Types of energy

History of road safety Here’s a timeline of driving, road safety laws and our understanding of the physcis behind movement.

1330s

Italian inventors design wind-driven vehicles.

There are many different types of energy. These have been summarised in the table below.

1687 Newton

ENERGY TYPE

EXPLANATION

EXAMPLE

Kinetic

Movement

Moving car

Gravitational potential

Energy that an object has when it is up high.

A skier at the top of a ski slope, a falling object.

Elastic potential

The energy an object has when it is stretched.

A stretched rubber band or softness of a piece of sheet metal in a car bonnet.

1710s Thomas Newcomen builds

publishes his three laws of motion in a book called Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, commonly known as the Principia.

Title page of the first edition of Principia.

an early model of a steam engine.

1760s

Chemical potential

The energy that is stored in chemicals.

The energy in food or petrol.

James Watt builds a pressurised steam engine.

Nuclear

Energy released from atoms.

The reactions that occur to hydrogen in the Sun.

Étienne Lenoir patented the first practical gas engine in Paris.

Sound

Energy caused by vibrating objects.

Clapping your hands produces sound energy so do two cars colliding.

Henry Ford builds and sells his first cars.

Heat

Energy caused by the virbration of particles within an object.

An oven releases heat energy so does a car engine.

French chemist Edouard Benedictus.

Light

Energy released from very Television releases light hot objects or chemicals. energy.

Electrical

Energy caused by the movement of electrons.

1860s 1890s

1903 Safety glass is invented by 1920s Road safety record

keeping begins and the National Safety Council is formed.

1930s & 40s

The focus on safety grows with more countries and cities introducing drivers’ licenses and traffic lights.

WIKIMEDIA

The lights in a house use electrical energy.

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Backgrounder 1950s

Energy of Car Collisions Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. The movement of the pistons in a car engine (converted from the chemical energy of the petrol) is converted into the actual movement of the car. When a car collides with a stationary object the kinetic energy is converted into energy deforming the bonnet and any other area of the car and the object it hits. Heat and sound energy is also released.

If the mass of the vehicle accelerates due to a force acting on it there will be an increase in kinetic energy. The more kinetic energy there is the more that needs to be displaced when the vehicle collides. When the force acting on a vehicle is friction, the kinetic energy of the car is converted to heat energy, and sound energy if the brakes squeal, due to the friction required to slow it down.

When Formula 1 cars crash their external parts are designed to come to pieces and fly off in all directions while the driver remains strapped to the inner frame of the vehicle. The kinetic energy of the flying parts move a great deal of kinetic energy away from the vehicle so that there is less near the car that can harm the driver.

When two cars travelling at 50km/h hit each other head on the damage is the same as a car travelling 50km/h hitting a brick wall. It is easy to imagine the damage would be twice as bad because there is twice as much kinetic energy to convert due to the movement of both vehicles. But the damage is the same because even though there is twice as much kinetic energy, there are two bonnets to absorb it as they crumple.

Elastic energy is energy stored in a spring or piece of elastic. Although dodgem car collisions are somewhat elastic, where the kinetic energy of the moving car is absorbed by the spongy rubber and then converted back to kinetic energy as the dodgem car bounces away, collisions between metallic cars are not elastic. The kinetic energy of the moving car is converted into the energy required to crumple the bonnet or other panels when the car hits something.

There has been a great deal of research into the crumple effect of the bonnet of a vehicle to allow it to absorb as much of the kinetic energy of a car crash as possible so that the energy is not transferred to the passengers where it can cause major injury.

Forces A force is a push or a pull on an object and is needed for a change to take place in that object. For example forces are needed to start a car and make it move, and forces are also needed to slow it down.

Most countries require drivers to pass a test before getting behind the wheel of a car. Research into developing a crumple zone at the front of the car begins.

1960s

Anti lock brakes (to help prevent skidding) and rear head rests (to help prevent whiplash) are introduced into cars. The first crash test dummy ‘Sierra Sam’ is created.

In Australia, it becomes compulsory for all new cars to have fitted seatbelts.

Helmets become compulsory for motorbike riders.

Sierra Sam

1970s

Breath testing begins in Australia and seatbelts become compulsory for all passengers.

Australia introduces the first legislation requiring children to wear restraints when in vehicles.

1980s

Air bags are introduced in most car models. The first three speed cameras are used on Australian roads. A campaign begins in Australia to reduce default speed limit to 50 km/h.

1987 Earliest versions of

Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a technology utilised in vehicles to detect when the car is skidding.

ESC helps the driver correct the movement of the car by applying the brakes on the wheels so the driver has more control during the skid.

1990s 40 km zones near

schools in Australia are introduced.

2010s

Child restraint laws tightened to improve the safety of small children in cars.

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WIKiMEDIA; iSTOCKPHOTO

2000s

National Road Safety Strategy developed in Australia with the aim of reducing road fatalities by 40%.

Backgrounder Types of Forces There are many different types of forces. These have been summarised in the table below.

TYPE OF FORCE

EXPLANATION

EXAMPLE

Magnetic

A non-contact force between magnetic objects and objects that can be influenced by magnetic objects

Magnets are used in some motors but the ones we are most familiar with are those we use to stick things to the fridge door.

Electrostatic

A non-contact force between charged objects

Any objects with a negative or positive charge, such as the charge you feel after rubbing your feet on the carpet and then touching someone.

Gravity

An non-contact force between every object in the universe. Usually seen on Earth occurring between the massive Earth and objects that are attracted to Earth

The car sitting on the road as it drives is gravity at work. The contact the wheel shares with the ground allow it to move forward and stop. When you have to accelerate going up a hill or brake when coming down a hill it is because of gravity.

Mechanical

A contact force where we can see objects pushing and pulling each other.

The thrust that turns the wheels of a car and sends it forward.

Friction

A contact force that occurs when objects rub against Friction occurs between the tyres and the road each other. Friction opposes the direction of motion of and is very important in helping a car to stop. an object.

Friction causes heat – just try rubbing your hand together!

Air resistance

A contact that involves air particles pushing against a moving object.

Most cars are streamlined to reduce air resistance so that they require less energy to move along at the speed limit. Drag causes the car to slow down due to air resistance.

Lateral forces

Are also known as turning forces and occur when an object turns a corner.

As a car and the passengers in it turn the corner they want to stay travelling in a straight line.

When the car turns the passengers tend to move in the opposite direction to the turning car.

Forces

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When you start a car’s engine, fuel is mixed with air, fed into the cylinders and ignited. The mixture explodes. Expanding gases push the pistons down, which turns the crankshaft.

When you shift the transmission into gear, power is transmitted from the crankshaft to the wheels and the car starts to move. The forces acting upon the car have become unbalanced, and the car begins to accelerate and is thrust forward. If the ground is slippery, such when it is icy, the tyres cannot grip and the ground cannot match the force of the tyres and push it forward as easily.

Friction is a force that has an enormous effect on the motion of everyday objects and is very important to road safety. Friction is the opposing force of two objects rubbing together and produces heat. If the surfaces are rough there is a great deal of friction and if the surfaces are smooth there is very little friction. Without friction cars would have difficulty stopping. Anything that reduces friction, such as a wet slippery road or bald tyres threatens road safety.

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SAM DOECKE, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Careers, industry and courses

Profile: Sam Doecke Crash scene investigator and automotive engineer CASR, University of Adelaide When notice comes through from the South Australia ambulance service that there’s been a car crash, investigators from the Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) at the University of Adelaide have to act quickly.

Part of their job is to reconstruct the impact scenario in order to better understand and improve road safety, but to do this, it’s critical that the accident site is preserved until they arrive.

“If the vehicles have been moved, or if we have no clear indication of where the vehicles ended up, we may not even proceed with the investigation,” explains Sam Doecke, an investigator and automotive engineer at the CASR. Once on scene, Doecke and his colleagues liaise with emergency personnel before carefully marking the position of the vehicles and, if fatalities have occurred, any position of bodies.

Next they mark and measure physical evidence such as skid marks, scrapes and gouges in the road surface, and debris. They then take photographs of the scene, speak to witnesses and involved parties if possible, and conduct a detailed engineering survey of the site.

Back in the lab, the team puts all the information into a searchable database, draws a scaled diagram of the crash site and begins the process of piecing the accident together, hoping to identify the contributing factors – and perhaps, determine who was at fault.

“If there are really nice critical speed marks, where a vehicle has lost control and left long, curving skid marks along the road, we can use those to do a fairly basic calculation,” says Doecke.

But for crashes involving multiple vehicles, where they collide and spin out, the researchers rely on 3D computer modelling.

“Technically speaking it’s not reconstruction, because it doesn’t work backwards – it works forwards, so it’s more like

simulating until we get something that matches the physical evidence,” he says. “We’ll estimate the speed, and the impact, then do a run and see how close that is to matching what we know happened.”

This requires knowing as much information about the vehicles as possible, including their make, model and year, in order to determine their exact dimensions and mass.

For Doecke, who began his university career studying mechanical engineering before switching to automotive engineering, working with cars was always in the game plan.

“I always had an interest in vehicles and tinkering with the design,” recalls the 27-year-old, who has had a long-held interest in motor racing, and just recently began venturing out on the track himself.

In his final year of study he took a course called automotive safety, which was run by some of the researchers at the CASR. “It was the first time I heard of the centre,” he recalls, “and it really caught my interest – it was something I could do on the automotive engineering side of things that could really have a positive impact.”

And at the CASR, the Australian-born researcher has had a chance to make some significant contributions; authoring studies on how the number of casualty crashes on South Australian roads can be reduced by targeting lowlevel speeders, and simulating pedestrian impacts to gauge injury scenarios.

For Doecke, research into road and automobile safety has heralded an unforeseen appeal. “I never really intended to get into research per se,” he says, “but what’s quite interesting about research is that there are constantly new topics – it’s not repetitive. There’s always a new problem to solve, or a question to answer.” – Myles Gough

“It was something I could do that could really have a positive impact.”

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Careers, industry and courses

Road injuries cause 600,000 deaths in Southeast Asia every year and are currently the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. Rebecca Ivers, director of the Injury Division at The George Institute for Global Health and an associate professor at the University of Sydney, directs a research program that focuses on injury prevention, with a strong emphasis on preventing injuries from road crashes.

She and her research team examine how many people are affected by injury and the resulting disability, the risk factors involved, and how these injuries can be prevented. “Our research measures the size of the problem, and evaluates effectiveness of prevention programs.”

Ivers initially studied optometry at the University of New South Wales and worked in the government’s eye health and trachoma programs in the Northern Territory after graduation.

“I really wanted to do something where I felt like I could make a difference to people’s lives,” she said. “That’s been the thing that’s driven me all along.”

While she was in the Northern Territory, she became interested in public health, especially among Aboriginal communities in remote areas.

She returned to university and undertook a master’s in public health at the University of Sydney, which then led to a PhD in injury epidemiology.

She initially focused on studying the falls and fractures resulting from poor vision and identifying the associated risks for older people, before moving on to injuries caused by poor vision and road crashes. Then in 2000 she oversaw DRIVE, a study that assessed the risk factors for over 20,000 novice drivers.

“In that study we found that risky driving is linked to an increased risk of crash, as is self-harm behaviour. We also found that young rural drivers are at far greater risk of single-vehicle crashes, which are more likely to result in serious injury than other crash types,” Ivers said.

Her studies have also focused working with the government to understand and prevent road injuries in the Aboriginal communities.

Statistics indicate that members of these communities are twice as likely to die in a road accident and are 40% more likely to be injured, which can be attributed in part to the bad roads, older cars and less access to emergency services in remote services, according to Ivers.

REBECCA IVERS, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Profile: Rebecca Ivers Director of the Injury Division, George Institute for Global Health and associate Professor at the University of Sydney

Some of her other projects are aimed at understanding and preventing injuries in China, India and Vietnam.

In the case of injuries resulting from road accidents, the higher diversity of vehicles – including bicycles and motorbicycles – on the roads in Southeast Asia and the low levels of road rule enforcement contribute to the high injury toll. “There’s a whole multitude of risk factors,” said Ivers. – Laura Boness

“We found that young rural drivers are at far greater risk of single-vehicle crashes, which are more likely to result in serious injury than other crash types.”

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Engage [Task] Unsafe driving 1. In the table below, circle each of the unsafe driving issue on the images.

2. Identify why this is an unsafe driving practice by suggesting a possible dangerous outcome.

3. Write a brief sentence to explain to the driver what they must do to drive safely.

Unsafe scenario

Why is it unsafe?

What is the possible outcome?

Advice to the unsafe driver

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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Explore (teacher’s page)

The aim of the Explore section is for the students to investigate some of the myths an ideas around road safety and ponder their possible impacts on the lives of their friends and family. It is intended that the students make their own discoveries about each station as well as experience inquiry based science as they work around the stations in the room.

The equipment table below lists the equipment and preparation required.

Station

Materials List

Station one Wearing a seat belt makes no difference if the driver is going at the speed limit when they hit something.

Toy car Ramp Plasticine String Elastic bands Small plastic figurine (or something to represent a figure) Ruler

Station two Small increases in speed do not increase the severity of a crash.

Toy car Ramp Something to crash the car into, such as plasticine that can be put up against a hard surface

Station three The mass of a car does not affect the damage it can do in a collision.

Two toy cars with different mass Ramp Plasticine A wall or something solid to crash in to

Station four Friction and stopping distance

Station five How safe is your pet?

Two toy cars Vaseline Oil Ramp Smooth plastic sheet Glad wrap A computer to play the following video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBX_UxuIf_Y&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Station six Glossary of terms

Science dictionary or science text book

Station seven Forces at work

No equipment needed, just the image on the worksheet

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Explore (student activities) Station one [Task] Bust the myth: wearing a seat belt makes no difference if the driver is going at the speed limit when they hit something.

1. Use the materials provided by your teacher to conduct a simple investigation to find out if attaching a ‘driver’ to the car

with a seatbelt is safer when the car hits a solid object than not attaching the driver.

2. What method did you use to attempt to find out if the seat belt makes a difference during collision?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station two [Task] Bust the myth: do small increases in speed increase the severity of a car crash?

1. Use the materials provided to design and conduct a simple investigation to find out if increases in speed affect the impact

of a car crashing into a wall.

2. What method did you use to attempt to try to find the effect of small increases in speed on the severity of a car crash?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station three [Task] Bust the myth: does the mass of a car affect the damage it can do in a collision?

1. Use the materials provided to design and conduct a simple investigation to find out if the mass of a car affects the damage

it can cause another object after a collision.

2. What method did you use to attempt to try to find out the effect of the mass of a car during a collision?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station four [Task] Do you think of your pet when you take it for a trip in the car?

1. Watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBX_UxuIf_Y&feature=endscreen&NR=1 2. What are the dangers to your pet in a car if they are not wearing a seatbelt-type restraint?

3. What are the dangers to the driver and passengers if a pet is not wearing a seatbelt type restraint?

4. What other ways can pets be restrained in a car?

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Explore (student activities) Station five [Task] What effect do slippery surfaces have on stopping distance?

1. Use the materials provided to design and conduct a simple investigation to find out if slippery tyres or a slippery road

affects stopping distance.

2. What method did you use to attempt to try to find out if slippery surfaces affect stopping distance?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station six [Task] Predict what each of these terms mean and then use a science dictionary or your text book to write the scientific definition.

WORD

PREDICTED MEANING

SCIENTIFIC MEANING

Speed

Velocity

Mass

Momentum

Energy

Kinetic energy

Force

Acceleration

Motion

Collision

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Explore (student activities) Station seven

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[Task] Which forces are at work when a car is moving along the road?

1. Label the image above to show the forces that are at work when a car drives down the street.

Include the following forces in action on a moving car: friction, air resistance, push, drag, thrust and gravity.

2. Use arrows to show the direction of the action of the force.

Summary 1. Which station was your favourite? Why? 2. At which station did you learn the most? What did you learn?

3. What questions do you have about speed and car collisions after completing these activities?

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Explain (introduction)

In this section, we explain the science of road safety by getting students to read Cosmos articles and other information about road safety issues. This section suggests discussion topics and activities linked to those articles.

Before reading any of the articles there is a brainstorm activity to get students thinking about some of the unsafe behaviours that may lead to road accidents.

Each article will have its own literacy activities, which includes: • Glossary • Comprehension and summary • Questioning toolkit The articles include: Article one – Road crash statistics This article introduces the official statistics about Australia’s road crashes. It is a good place to start when thinking about why we can never give up on trying to improve safety on the roads. The information is taken from the National Road Safety Council website http://www.nrsc.gov.au/road_crash_statistics/index.aspx.

Article two – The physics of road safety This article discusses the interesting physics of road crashes and shows how science can debunk many of the myths we have about road safety. Examples include the myth that going a few km/h over the speed limit has no real safety risk.

Article three – True story: it’s a miracle my best friend and I survived the car crash A driver’s account of a lucky escape from a car accident.

Article four – Motor Accident Commission (MAC) report This article mentions some of the research and strategies employed by the Motor Accident Commission of South Australia to communicate the importance of safety on our roads.

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Explain (article one) Brainstorming [Task] Model the worst driver ever Around the figure below, draw or write some of the behaviours or actions of someone who is not a responsible driver.

Consider the following: • What they might have been doing just before they started driving that would compromise how well they drove • The kinds of activities they might try to do, or be forced to do while driving that would reduce their focus and ability to drive well • Their general attitude to driving and other drivers on the road with them • Any unsafe conditions of their vehicle or their environment they are not responding to

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When you have completed your ‘worst driver ever’ brainstorm, share your ideas with the rest of the class.

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Explain (article one)

Road crash statistics Road crashes result in about 1,500 fatalities and 30,000 hospital admissions each year.

The annual cost to the national economy is estimated to be $27 billion.

Australian road deaths for 12 months over the last 10 years

months.

This graph shows the total number of road deaths in Australia from 2000 to 2010.

Data and graph from: http://www.nrsc.gov.au/road_crash_statistics/index.aspx

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Explain (article one) Glossary [Task] Use the table to define any science or technical words that are related to this article.

Word

Definition

Hospital admission

Fatality

Summarising [Task] In your exercise book, complete the following questions.

1. How many people die on Australian roads each year?

2. What is the general trend for road fatalities from 2000 to 2010?

3. What is the estimated cost of road accidents to the Australian economy?

4. Draw a line of best fit on graph 1 over the top of the line graph provided using your ruler. Extend this line to predict the number of road deaths in 2015.

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Explain (article one) Questioning toolkit [Task] Below are a series of discussion questions in the form of a questioning toolkit. Choose some or all of the questions, or ask some of your own.

Write your ideas and opinions relating to each of the different types of questions.

Inspired by Jamie McKenzie’s Questioning Toolkit - McKenzie, Jamie (2000) Beyond Technology, FNO Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA (www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html).

Type of question

Your ideas and opinions

Essential questions These are the most important and central questions.

They probe the deepest issues that confront us and can be difficult to answer.

Question: Why do road accidents occur? Why do you think the number of road fatalities have fallen over the last 40 years even though there are more drivers and cars on the road?

Subsidiary questions These questions help us to manage our information by finding the most relevant details.

Questions: Most road fatalities occur during the day, why do you think this happens and there aren’t more accidents at night? Why are there still fatalities when cars travelling at less than 100km/h? Does driving even a little over the speed limit still increase the level of danger if there is an accident?

Hypothetical questions Questions designed to explore the possibilities, the ‘what ifs’? They are useful when we want to test our hunches.

Questions: Do you think that if less people drove and more people rode their bikes or walked to where they had to be each day that the number of road fatalities would decrease?

If the roads were just as busy at night as they are during the day do you think the majority of accidents would still occur during the day?

Provocative questions Questions to challenge convention.

Questions: Will it ever be possible to have a zero fatalities road accident outcome for any given year in the future? Why do you think driving is so popular even though it is one of the most unsafe ways to travel?

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about thetwo) guide Explain (article

The physics of road safety F

or many people, driving becomes routine. They buckle themselves in and turn the key in the ignition; check mirrors, shift into gear and seamlessly pull away into traffic. But sometimes on the road people cheat, speeding just a few kilometres per hour (km/h) over the speed limit in an effort to shave a few minutes off their travel time.

Travelling 65 km/h in a 60 zone might seem like a minor offense, and it may not result in a speeding ticket, but it could factor into the chance of being in a crash.

In a February 2011 study, researchers from the University of Adelaide watched vehicles at 127 different sites in South Australia where speed limits ranged from 50 to 110 km/h. They analysed crash sites where injuries or deaths occurred and found that the best way to reduce the number of car crash injuries would be to target low level speeders – those going just 1 to 5 km/h above the limit.

These results supported another report 10 years before that found the risk of being involved in a dangerous collision doubled with each 5 km/h speed increase above 60 km/h. This means that a car driving at 65 km/h in a 60 zone would be twice as likely to be involved in a crash resulting in death or hospitalisation than a car keeping to the speed limit. This risk is four times higher for a car racing at 70 km/h.

SO WHY IS there so much more of a risk from a comparatively minor speed hike? First, it takes the average driver 1.5 seconds to react to a hazard on the road, such as a cyclist or animal, but this can be longer if the driver is tired, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or distracted by texting, for example.

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It is also important to consider the vehicle’s braking distance – how far it will travel before coming to a stop? This distance depends on the speed the car is travelling but also on many other things, including how good the brakes are, the slope of the road – when travelling uphill, gravity can help to slow things down – and the conditions of the road surface. “What sometimes happens on a wet road is that the brakes lock up and the car skids,” says physicist John Storey from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, noting that icy conditions can increase stopping distance by up to 10 times.

And the faster or heavier a vehicle is, the more damage it will do. This is because the energy of the moving vehicle (its kinetic energy; the energy an object possesses due to motion) is used up and transferred into another form – such as heat or sound. “In the case of a typical car crash the energy is used up crumpling and deforming the metal – it takes energy to smash and bend steel,” says Storey.

Say one car is travelling at 50 km/h and another at 55 km/h. Where the second car is travelling 10% faster than the first, it will have 20% more kinetic energy. If we suppose the car was travelling at 100 km/h, or double the speed of the first car, then the kinetic energy would increase by four.

“That could make the difference between a minor ding in your car and a serious smash,” says forensic physicist Rod Cross from the University of Sydney. “It could make the difference between a fracture in the skull or a guy being outright killed.”

KINETIC ENERGY IS also an important consideration when judging the result of a larger vehicle hitting a smaller vehicle or a

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pedestrian. “Each individual car carries its own kinetic energy into the collision, and assuming the cars are identical, then each of the cars absorbs its own kinetic energy,” says Storey. “Sure, you’ve got twice as much kinetic energy because there are two cars, but you’ve also got twice as many cars to spread the energy over.”

However, if one car was heavier or faster, than the result would instantly change – with the smaller car or the pedestrian suffering more damage. “If you collide a light object with a heavy object it’s the lighter object that rebounds more,” says Storey. “Think of a ball hitting a bat, the ball rebounds while the bat tends not to.”

According to statistics from the Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, there were 1,315 road deaths between August 2010 and August 2011. Six hundred and seven of those deaths were drivers, 275 were passengers, 204 were motorcyclists, 189 were pedestrians and 39 were cyclists.

The good news is this figure has been decreasing over the last five years. But one worrying figure is the difference between male and female deaths. In 2011, men accounted for more than 70% of all fatalities on Australian roads.

So could a reduced speed limit help prevent fatalities? In a 2004 study, researchers from the University of Adelaide Centre for Automotive Safety Research looked at a decision by the South Australian government to reduce the default urban speed limit from 60 km/h to 50 km/h. They found that average vehicle speed decreases by 2.3 km/h and the number of road crash casualties by 24%.

It’s a small change that could make a big difference to the safety of our roads.

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Speeding just a little above the limit can greatly affect the likelihood of a collision, writes Myles Gough.

about the three) guide Explain Explain (article (article two) Glossary

[Task] Use the table to define any science or technical terms that are related to this story.

Term

Definition

Low level speeders Braking distance Gravity Kinetic energy Urban

Summarising [Task] In your exercise book, answer the following questions.

1. Which branch of science conducts research on the effects of speeding and collision?

2. How do the following affect the braking distance of a car?

(a) The slope of the road

(b) How much water is on the road

(c) Ice on the road

(d) The condition of the car’s tyres 3. Define ‘kinetic energy’ and give some examples.

4. Describe what happens to the energy in a car crash when a car hits a wall?

5. What happens when two cars hit head on if:

(a) one has greater mass than the other but is travelling at the same speed

(b) they both have the same mass but one is going faster

(c) they both have the same mass and are travelling at the same speed.

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Explain (article two) Questioning toolkit [Task] Below are a series of discussion questions in the form of a questioning toolkit. Choose some or all of the questions, or ask some of your own.

Write your ideas and opinions relating to each of the different types of questions.

Inspired by Jamie McKenzie’s Questioning Toolkit - McKenzie, Jamie (2000) Beyond Technology, FNO Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA (www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html).

Type of question

Your ideas and opinions

Essential questions These are the most important and central questions.

They probe the deepest issues that confront us and can be difficult to answer.

Question: Why does a few kilometres over the speed limit increase the risk of a road accident? How can gathering information at the scene of an accident help prevent another accident?

Subsidiary questions These questions help us to manage our information by finding the most relevant details.

Questions: What sorts of things could cause a driver to brake really quickly and hence set them up for an accident? How can the researchers at Adelaide University make their research known to everyday drivers so that they won’t take risks by with low level speeding?

Hypothetical questions Questions designed to explore the possibilities, the ‘what ifs’? They are useful when we want to test our hunches.

Questions: In the future if we all drive electric cars with a maximum speed of 40 km/h how much safer would the roads be? If you were a road safety engineer what kinds of technology would you work on to help reduce the way the destructive energy in a car crash is spread to the car and not to the people in the car?

Provocative questions Questions to challenge convention.

Questions: Why do you think more males are injured or die in road accidents than females? Why do people continue to take risks when driving even though they are increasing the chance of an accident?

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Explain (article three)

It’s a miracle my best friend and I survived In this true story, a day at the beach ends in a terrifying car crash for a girl and her best friend.

O

n the 4 September 2010, it was beautiful sunny day when my best friend Kate and I set out to have a fabulous picnic at Kai Iwi beach e were at the beach for a couple of hours before I had soccer practise, which Kate came to watch. As we drove off from the beach we sang to Miley Cyrus, the CD began to play up and I asked her to change the music.

The road we were on was called Rapanui Road, which is a long narrow counry road, a very dangerous road.

Kate began to play around and she was pressing the wrong buttons, I looked down to show her the button she should be pressing.

I took my eyes of the road for at the most 2 seconds, it was a bad mistake.

I looked up to see the left hand side of my car on the long grass, I started to panic as I realised what I’d done, I tried to take control but my car started to skid.

I swerved too fast to the right and go over the other side of the line, luckily no cars were coming in that direction. By this time I’d lost total control of my little

Suzuki Swift 1990. The car was now back on the grass on the left side, I pulled on the brakes but it didn’t make a difference, the car was skidding and I looked up to see we were both heading for a tall concrete power pole.

The only things going through my mind were, “I’m about to die”, “this is it”, I closed my eyes as we hit the power pole, the car swung around to face the road. I looked to Kate to see if she was okay, that was all

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W

I jumped out of the car to see sparks everywhere, wires all over the ground, but I just ran. Three steps and I stepped on a solid black power line, the electric shock happened very fast, and it was like a small electric shock times a million.

It was blank from then on, until I lay on the grass further down the road with my hand being held tight by my best friend. People were everywhere, I saw them taking photos. Five cop cars, one ambulance and two fire trucks.

We were taken to Wanganui hospital, where we had many procedures. The electric shock went through my left foot and out of my chest/neck area. I walked away the day after the car accident with only bad burn marks on my neck. We are very lucky girls. It is unbelievable we survived the crash and that we are still able to walk. The car was completely crushed.

Someone was definitely watching over us and I’m so thankful to still have my best friend with me.

This is an edited version of a story from the Experience Project: experienceproject.com

The only things going through my mind were, “I’m about to die”, “this is it”.

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that mattered to me, I wanted to know that my best friend wasn’t hurt. Within two seconds I saw the power pole falling, falling on top of us, so quick, it happened so fast. The pole fell right the centre of my car. I felt the glass break all over my face. Without thinking I yelled, “RUN”.

I didn’t know if Kate had been hit by the pole, I could only hope she was unharmed.

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Explain (article three) Summary [Task] Describe this story to a friend in a couple of sentences.

Questioning toolkit [Task] Below are a series of discussion questions in the form of a questioning toolkit. Choose some or all of the questions, or ask some of your own.

Write your ideas and opinions relating to each of the different types of questions.

Inspired by Jamie McKenzie’s Questioning Toolkit - McKenzie, Jamie (2000) Beyond Technology, FNO Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA (www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html).

Type of question

Your ideas and opinions

Essential questions These are the most important and central questions.

They probe the deepest issues that confront us and can be difficult to answer.

Question: What is the main message in this story? Why do you think this story was included here?

Subsidiary questions These questions help us to manage our information by finding the most relevant details.

Questions: How could the driver have prevented this accident? How could Kate have prevented this accident? How do you think the driver and Kate’s behaviour might change next time they want to change the music in the car?

Hypothetical questions Questions designed to explore the possibilities, the ‘what ifs’? They are useful when we want to test our hunches.

Questions: If they had been travelling faster in the car when they had the accident, what might have happened?

Provocative questions Questions to challenge convention.

Questions: Should a driver lose their licence for having had an accident? If Kate doesn’t want to get in the car again with her friend because she had an accident, do you think her behaviour is justified?

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Explain (summarising) Bringing it all together [Task] In your exercise book, complete the following activites related to all of the four articles.

1. Which was your favourite article and why?

2. Create a mind map to show the relationship between all the different articles related to road safety.

3. List three big issues that you have learnt about from the articles.

4. Suggest why it is important to learn about the science behind road safety and low level speeding.

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Explain (article four)

Motor Accident Commission report

MAC

T

HE KEY THEMES of MAC’s road safety activity this year were a dedicated focus on road users most at risk, a desire to push the creative envelope and working with road safety partners in the development of a new Road Safety Strategy for South Australia.

MAC invested more than $10 million in road safety initiatives in 2010-11. Some of these were a first for South Australia and stimulated important community debate about road trauma.

While we remained focused on mature road safety issues including speeding, drink and drug driving, seatbelts and fatigue, this year we launched three new campaigns specifically targeting regional motorists, low-level speeding and motorcyclists.

MAC has also invested considerable time in researching and developing a campaign focusing on young drivers. Drivers aged 16 – 24 years have a crash rate double that of an average driver. They represent 14% of all licenced drivers, but generate over 30% of costs to the CTP Fund. The campaign will be launched in July 2011.

These target groups are grossly overrepresented in fatality and serious injury crash statistics. They also have distinct demographic and behavioural differences warranting unique campaign messages and approaches.

While some argued our campaigns were too controversial, our objective was to deliver messages that our target audiences would listen and relate to.

Extensive market research went in to the development of these campaigns to ensure our messages were well targeted and influential. To date, our post-campaign market research has shown our approach was on the right track.

‘Matemorphosis’, the regional campaign Regional South Australia continues to be over represented in road crashes, fatality and serious injury figures. They comprise 30% of the population yet account for 61% of those killed and 50% of those seriously injured. The high trauma rate is largely attributed to young males.

Just like on the footy field, mateship is the glue that unites regional communities.

This insight formed the basis for our ‘matemorphosis’ campaign. Launched in June 2011, the campaign featured real country people from the Callington Football Club, the location for the ad shoot. The campaign adopted a humorous approach but had a very serious message, encouraging young regional males to stop their mates from taking risks on the road.

As part of this important campaign, MAC implemented its Major Partnership with the South Australian Community Football League, to help reverse the disturbing trend of road trauma in regional South Australia.

‘Gear Up’, the motorcyclist campaign The ‘Gear Up’ motorcyclist campaign, launched in November 2010, highlighted the risks of riding without the appropriate protective clothing and once again featured FiveTime MotoGP Champion, Mick Doohan. It formed phase two of the motorcycle safety communication strategy.

It followed the successful first phase launched 12 months ago featuring a confronting television commercial showing the dangers faced by motorcyclists. The ongoing MAC campaign is the first to specifically target motorcyclists in South Australia with research showing they’re 30 times more likely to be killed on our roads than a motorist. Motorcyclists are fully exposed to all the elements and are also particularly vulnerable to injury if they’re involved in a crash.

‘Creepers’, the low-level speeding campaign Following on from the original ‘Creepers’ campaign developed in 2008, this refreshed campaign again focused on the damage that driving just a few kilometres over the limit can do. It featured three sequenced commercials showing a crash from the point of view of the driver, a witness and the victim. The campaign urged people to stick to the speed limit to stop creepers.

Road Safety in the community MAC has provided support to two major road safety initiatives aimed at school students for many years now, namely the South Australian Police Road Safety Education Program and the Schoolies Festival. This year MAC’s partnership with the Schoolies Festival was nationally recognised at the Sponsorship Australasia Awards in the Best Cause Related Sponsorship category.

MAC’s community presence was further strengthened through supporting the Good Sports program, a program to assist community-based sports clubs in regional South Australia to reduce alcohol- related problems, most importantly drink driving.

As an Australian-first, MAC supported the trial of a breakthrough communications technology in Adelaide.

The technology, known as Dedicated Short Range Communications, could dramatically reduce casualty crashes nationally by as much as 35%.

The road ahead Sadly, far too many South Australians lost their lives and suffered serious injuries in road crashes this year. However we were encouraged that total road casualties reduced by approximately 6% on the previous year. While this percentage sounds insignificant, it translates to 300 fewer people being injured on our roads.

MAC will be relentless in its road safety efforts to accelerate this downward trend both now and into the future.

This is an edited excert from the MAC annual report 2010-2011

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The Motor Accident Commission explains how it strives to improve the safety of the roads in this report.

Explain (article four) Teacher’s information In this section, we explain the science of road safety by getting students to read Cosmos articles and other information about road safety issues. This section suggests discussion topics and activities linked to those articles.

Before reading any of the articles there is a brainstorm activity to get students thinking about some of the unsafe behaviours that may lead to road accidents.

Each article will have its own literacy activities, which includes: • Glossary • Comprehension and summary • Questioning toolkit The articles include: Article one – Road crash statistics This article introduces the official statistics about Australia’s road crashes. It is a good place to start when thinking about why we can never give up on trying to improve safety on the roads. The information is taken from the National Road Safety Council website http://www.nrsc.gov.au/road_crash_statistics/index.aspx.

Article two – Motor Accident Commission (MAC) report This article mentions some of the research and strategies employed by the Motor Accident Commission of South Australia to communicate the importance of safety on our roads.

Article three – The physics of road safety This article discusses the interesting physics of road crashes and shows how science can debunk many of the myths we have about road safety. Examples include the myth that going a few km/h over the speed limit has no real safety risk.

Brainstorming [Task] Model the worst driver ever.

Around the figure and car below, draw or write some of the behaviours or actions of someone who is not a responsible driver.

Consider the following: • What they might have been doing just before they started driving that would compromise how well they drove.

• The kinds of activities they might try to do, or be forced to do while driving, that would reduce their focus and ability to drive well.

• Their general attitude to driving and other drivers on the road.

• Any unsafe conditions of their vehicle or their environment they are not responding to.

When you have completed your ‘worst driver ever’ brainstorm, share your ideas with the rest of the class.

Glossary [Task] Use the table to define any science or technical words that are related to this article.

Word

Definition

Hospital admission

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about the guide Explain (article four) Summarising [Task] In your exercise book, complete the following questions related to this article.

1.

Identify eight road safety initiatives of the Motor Accident Commission and describe them as well as you can using the information provided in the article. Use the table below to collate the information.

Road safety initiative

Description of road safety initiative

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

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Explain (article four) Questioning toolkit [Task] Below are a series of discussion questions in the form of a questioning toolkit. Choose some or all of the questions, or ask some of your own.

Write your ideas and opinions relating to each of the different types of questions.

Inspired by Jamie McKenzie’s Questioning Toolkit - McKenzie, Jamie (2000) Beyond Technology, FNO Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA (www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html).

Type of question

Your ideas and opinions

Essential questions These are the most important and central questions.

They probe the deepest issues that confront us and can be difficult to answer.

Question: What does a motor safety commission do? Why do we need organisations such as the Motor Accident Commission to communicate issues in road safety to us?

Subsidiary questions These questions help us to manage our information by finding the most relevant details.

Questions: Why might riding a motor bike be more dangerous than driving a car? What are some of the campaigns the other road safety commissions in other states in Australia have implemented?

Hypothetical questions Questions designed to explore the possibilities, the ‘what ifs’? They are useful when we want to test our hunches.

Questions: Do you think there is any reason for someone to drive unsafely? Do you think awareness campaigns like the ones mentioned in the report above would help you drive more safely or do you think safe driving is more about common sense? If you were the boss of a road safety commission, which campaigns would you promote?

Provocative questions Questions to challenge convention.

Questions: Is the money spent on road safety campaigns money well spent?

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h ac er

ou rc

e

r

es

’s

Te

Elaborate

About the Cosmos matrix What is the COSMOS Science Matrix?

A learning matrix such as the COSMOS Science Matrix is a flexible classroom tool designed to meet the needs of a variety of different learning styles across different levels of capabilities. Students learn in many different ways – some are suited to hands-on activities, others are strong visual learners, some enjoy intellectually challenging, independent hands-off activities, while others need more guidance. The matrix provides a smorgasbord of science learning activities from which teachers and/or students can choose.

Can I use the matrix for one or two lessons, or for a whole unit of study?

Either! The matrix is designed to be time flexible as well as educationally flexible. A time frame for each activity is suggested on the matrix. Choose to complete one activity, or as many as you like.

Is there room for student negotiation?

Yes! Students can be given a copy of the matrix and choose their own activities, or design their own activities in consultation with their classroom teacher.

Can I use the matrix for a class assessment?

Yes! You can set up a point system – perhaps one lesson equals one point. Students can be given a number of points to complete. If they choose less demanding activities, they will have to complete more of them.

What do the row headings mean?

Row heading

Description of activity

Scientific procedure

Hands-on activities that follow the scientific method. Includes experiments and surveys. Great for kinaesthetic and logical learners, as well as budding scientists.

Science philosophy

Thinking about science and its role in society. Includes discussion of ethical issues, debates and hypothetical situations. An important part of science in the 21st century.

Being creative with science

For all those imaginative students with a creative flair. Great for visual and musical learners and those who like to be innovative with the written word.

Science time travel

Here we consider scientific and technological development as a linear process by looking back in time or travelling creatively into the future.

‘Me’ the scientist

Personalising the science experience in order to engage students more deeply.

Communicating Using images to communicate complex science ideas. with graphics ICT

Exploring the topic using computers and the Internet.

What do the column headings mean?

1. Read and revise

2. Read and relate

3. Read and review

Designed to enhance student comprehension of information.

Gives the student the opportunity to apply or transfer their learning into a unique format.

Involves the more challenging tasks of analysing, and/or assessing information in order to create and express new ideas and opinions.

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Elaborate Scientific procedure

Science philosophy

Being creative with science

Science time travel

‘Me’ the scientist

Communicating with graphics ICT

Design a road safety poster or bill board to show the dangers of low level speeding.

A teenager with a second hand car has just won $1,000 and wants to spend it on his car. Would it be safer for him to upgrade the quality of his tyres so that they have better grip, or tint his windows so that people cannot see in?

Conduct an experiment to find out which kind of seatbelt is the safest, a lap only, a lap sash, or a full harness. See Experiment 1.

1. Read and revise – one or two lessons

Imagine you are a science educator. Design a fun lesson or class activity to explain the science behind one safety feature in a new car, such as how airbags, anti-locking brakes, cargo barriers or the locking action of seatbelts works. Make sure there is a practical activity to complement the theory. Check with your teacher to see if you can present the lesson to the rest of the class. OR Design a practical lesson to demonstrate how Energy = ½ mv2 works.

Watch this silent film of a 1921 grand prix car race. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g2Mfj_dCn8&feature=related How many dangers for the driver and spectators can you spot?

How is the car unsafe? Compare to footage of a modern-day grand prix race if you need to.

If you double the velocity of a car you quadruple the stopping time. Come up with a creative way to visually show drivers how this works.

Car and motorbike racing is inherently dangerous for drivers, their crew and the spectators, with many injuries and deaths being recorded over the history of the sport. Why do you think humans pursue such dangerous careers and pastimes? What is it in human nature that is attracted to a sport even though it has been responsible for its fair share of tragedy?

Choose one of the experimental activities you undertook in the circuit of activities, such as how lack of friction affects stopping time or whether the speed of a car affects its stopping time, and improve your methodology so that you can conduct a properly controlled scientific investigation. Use any extra materials you may need. A template is provided for this investigation. See Experiment 2.

2. Read and relate – three or four lessons

Use a Venn diagram to compare road safety issues when driving a 60 tonne truck compared to driving a 1 tonne car. Include information in relation to the percentage of lane space they take up, their mass, acceleration time, breaking distance, overtaking rules and speed limits.

You are a car engineer. Explain how racing cars are constructed differently to domestic cars so that when they crash, bits fly off and take the kinetic energy with them so that less of the impact can harm the driver. Why can’t domestic cars do this? Where does the kinetic energy go when domestic cars crash?

Explain what kinetic energy is and how car engineers design cars so that the kinetic energy of a moving car can be converted to do the least harm to the passengers.

Write a dialogue between two passengers in the back seat of a smart car with the new Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) capabilities. The one passenger is explaining to the other how it works as radio signals inform the driver of potential dangers such as slow vehicles up ahead, fast approaching emergency vehicles, faulty traffic lights and roadwork hazards. Research DSRC technology to find out how it would communicate to a driver and assist them to avoid an accident.

If style and money were no object, design a safety car with internal and external features that would reduce the amount of injuries to the passengers after a collision. Consider how the kinetic energy from the impact could be converted or transferred to the car rather than to the occupants of the car. Ideas to consider: changing the length of the crumple zone of the bonnet, the position and size of airbags.

Physics has shown that bull bars can increase the damage to both pedestrians and passengers in a car during a crash. This is because they make the crumple zone of a car less effective. Some countries have banned bull bars on fourwheel drives. Should Australia do the same? Research the authentic arguments for and against bull bars in metropolitan areas. Communicate your opinion as a letter to the editor, a blog or any similar format. You could also conduct a class debate to expose the issues proposed by both sides of the argument.

Design, conduct and write up an experiment that demonstrates: Energy = ½ mv2 In other words, how 2x speed gives you 4x longer braking distance

3. Read and review – four or five lessons

What happens to you and any other passengers in the car when it brakes suddenly? Why do you think this happens?

Use Powerpoint, or any other graphic tool, to show the forces acting on a car going uphill.

Research a range of computer applications that are designed to promote road safety. Which do you think could be the most useful and/or the most effective?

Either design your own road safety app or describe in detail an idea for an app that would help improve safety on the road.

Using Excel, tabulate the data in the graph presented in the first article of the Explain section.

Can you imagine a future without car accidents? Why or why not?

Make a mind map of information in the physics of driving article.

Ask your teacher to register with Scootle (if they haven’t already) and have a go at the following learning objects: ‘Car safety check: before buying’, code TLF ID L1367 and ‘Give me a brake’, code TLF ID L52.

OR Play some road safety games at: www.safetymatters.renault.co.uk/media/games/index.php?id=3 Improve this town by making its roads safer OR Road safety hangman at www.rapsforkids.com.au/wordguess.php

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Elaborate

Experiment 1

Which type of seat belt is the safest?

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Background Information Depending on which type of vehicle you travel in, how old you are and which decade you spent most of your time in a car, there are three types of seatbelts you could have worn. Lap seat belts, like those on aeroplanes, are worn across the lap; lap sash seatbelts are those that have both a strap across the waist and one diagonally across the chest, such as the ones we commonly use today; and a harness seatbelt has straps over both shoulders and one horizontally across the chest.

Aim To find out which seat belt is the safest to have in a car.

Materials • Rag doll (optional) • Plasticine • Cardboard box (such as a shoe box) that the doll can fit inside • String • Scissors • Masking tape • Round plastic lid (to be used a a steering wheel) • Piece of dowling (to be used as the steering column) Risk Analysis Risk

Precaution

Consequence

Sharp pointy scissors

Method 1. Cover the rag doll with a thin layer of plasticine across the chest, head, arms and legs. Alternatively make a

plasticine figure.

2. Make two holes in the back of the box with the pointy end of the scissors.

3. Wrap a piece of string around the waist of the doll and then through the holes in the box so that the back of the doll is

attached to the box by the string ‘seatbelt’.

4. Put the lid on the box or fold lid over and secure with masking tape.

5. Hold the box so that the doll inside the box is facing the floor.

6. Let the box go so that it hits the floor.

7. Open the box and examine the markings on the plasticine caused by the impact and the seatbelt.

8. Record your observations in the results table.

9. Repeat steps 3 to 8 using a lap sash seatbelt on the doll.

10. Repeat steps 3 to 8 using a harness seatbelt on the doll.

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Elaborate Results Observations after head on collision (dropping the box) Seat belt type

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Lap

Lap sash

Harness

Discussion How was this doll and box model able to show the effects of a real head on collision in a car?

How was this model limited in showing the effects of a real head in collision in a car?

Which seat belt caused the least damage to the doll?

Why do you think the other two seatbelts are used, if this one is the safest?

1.

2.

3.

4.

Conclusion In your exercise book, write a conclusion that responds to the aim and summarises your results.

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Elaborate

Experiment 2 Reviewing experiments Background Information In the TV show Mythbusters, as well as in real life science, experiments are often analysed for their ability to really answer the question that was asked in the first place. Each new attempt at an experiment tries to make the test more valid, that is, fairer.

Scientists check that all variables except the one being tested are not having an effect, and that the method used will allow the research question to be answered. In school science we rarely have time for this.

Choose one of the experiments from the circuit of activities and have a go at redesigning it so that it will be more valid. Use any extra materials you may need.

You can choose from: Does lack of grip on the tyres affect stopping time?

Do wet slippery roads affect stopping time?

Does the speed the car is travelling at affect its stopping time?

Does the mass of a car affect the stopping time?

What happens to a pet in the back seat during an accident if they are not restrained with a seatbelt?

Fill in the template below as you plan and conduct your experiment.

Research question (Write the question you want to investigate below.)

Aim (Turn the research question into an experimental aim below.)

To find out...

Hypothesis (Say what you think will happen and why.)

Materials (Write a list of materials that you will use in this investigation.)

• • • • • • • • • •

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Elaborate Risk analysis (Identify any risks associated with this investigation. Ask your teacher to check your risk analysis before you continue with your investigation.)

Risk

Precaution

Consequence

Method (Write instructions for your investigation here so that someone independent could follow them and carry out the

exact same experiment that you did.)

1.

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8.

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Elaborate Results (Design a table to collect the data taken from several trials. You may want to include an average of the trials).

Discussion Answer the following questions in your exercise book.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Were your results similar to your hypothesis?

Do you think that you answered the research question? Why or why not?

Identify any difficulties you had when trying to bust this myth and how you overcame them.

If there was no limit to the money, space, time and equipment that could be used to answer this research question, what method could you use?

Conclusion In your exercise book, write a conclusion that summarises your results and responds to the aim.

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Evaluate

Across 9. We need to do this to the number of road fatalities.

11. When riding a bike, this must be worn.

12. Talking on the phone while driving can reduce this.

13. Under what age can you ride your bike on the pavement?

15. This should be done to a passenger pet when travelling in a car.

17. Low level speeding is up to how many kilometres over the speed limit?

18. What is the speed limit outside a school at the start of a school day?

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Down: 1. automobile, 2.kinetic, 3. ambulance, 4. drunk, 5. longer, 6. seatbelt, 7. moving, 8. breaks, 10. rain, 14. never, 15. RSE, 16. amber

Across: 9. reduce, 11. helmet, 12. concentration, 13. eleven, 15. restrained, 17. five, 18. forty

Speeding crossword

Down 1. Royal ? Association 2. The energy of movement 3. These people can legally go above speed limit.

4. Never get in the car with someone in this condition.

5. The braking distance going downhill is ___________ compared to uphill.

6. Everyone in the car must have their own.

7. A seatbelt must be worn when the car is doing what?

8. When driving long distances, what should the driver take regularly?

10. This can make the roads slippery and increase braking distance.

14. When is it okay to throw something to the driver when in a car?

15. Road safety education (abbreviation) 16. What is the colour of caution on a traffic light?

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Evaluate Speeding word search D

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Find the following words hidden backwards, forwards, diagonally, downwards and upwards: air bags, attention, awareness, campaigns, caution, check mirrors, concentrate, drivers licence, education, give way, hazard, impact, reaction time, respect, responsibility, revive, road signs, road works, school zones, slow down, sober, speed limit, statistics

Create your own road safety quiz a) Ask each student to call out a word related to road safety. Record these on the board.

b) Each student must pick six words from the board and write a definition for each. c) Students then pick four more words from the board and write a paragraph describing them. They should highlight their

chosen words in the paragraph.

from the board. They should show links between words and write along lines connecting words to show how the terms are related.

d) Students create a concept map showing all they have learnt about road safey and speeding using at least half the words

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Evaluate Speeding individual unit review What about you?

Drawing

Are you a safe pedestrian and passenger in the car?

How has this unit helped you understand how to be safe on the roads?

Create an image that summarised this unit of work for you.

Learning Summary Write five dot points of things that you learnt about road safety.

Your philosophy What is your new philosophy about road safety and speeding? How has studying this unit of work on road safety changed your behavior as either a pedestrian, bike rider or driver? What can you do to make the road a safer place for yourself, your family and for fellow citizens?

More questions?

Metacognition

Write three questions that you still have about road safety.

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Which part of this unit of study on road safety had the biggest impact on you? Why?

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The science and myths of low level speeding

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About the guide r

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Introduction to the guide RiAus PDplus Teacher Notes is a new initiative of RiAus that has been designed to assist middle school (Years 7 – 9) teachers engage and involve their students.

e

ou rc Created by Sally Parker Editor Heather Catchpole Designer Fiona MacDonald Editor-in-Chief Wilson da Silva Publisher Kylie Ahern

The notes supplement a PDplus presentation hosted by RiAus on science and myths of low level speeding, which will allow teachers to have access and put questions to scientists about their research and careers.

The RiAus PDplus Teacher Notes publication is produced by COSMOS magazine for the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus).

See the RiAus website for further details and footage. www.riaus.org.au

This resource is made possible thanks to support from:

Other RiAus PDplus Teacher Notes

Food Security, Synthetic Biology, The Square Kilometre Array and The World Solar Challenge. These PDplus Teacher Notes are available on the RiAus website: http://riaus.org.au/programs/our-projects/riaus-pdplus

How to use the guide The notes offer both variety and flexibility of use for the differentiated classroom.

Teachers and students can choose to use all or any of the five sections – although it is recommended to use them in sequence, and all or a few of the activities within each section.

© 2012 COSMOS Media Pty Ltd, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner or form for commercial purposes or outside of an educational setting. COSMOS, The Science of Everything™ is protected by trademarks in Australia and the USA. This guide was first published on 1 February 2012.

The ‘FIVE Es’ Model The guide will employ the ‘Five Es’ instructional model designed by Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, an educational research group in Colorado, USA. It has been found to be extremely effective in engaging students in learning science and technology. It follows a constructivist or inquiry based approach to learning, in which students build new ideas on top of the information they have acquired through previous experience.

Its components are:

Engage Students are asked to make connections between past and present learning experiences and become fully engaged in the topic to be learned.

Explore Students actively explore the concept or topic being taught. It is an informal process where the students should have fun manipulating ideas or equipment and discovering things about the topic.

Explain This is a more formal phase where the theory behind the concept is taught. Terms are defined and explanations given to models and theories.

Elaborate Students develop a deeper understanding of sections of the topic.

Evaluate Teacher and students evaluate what they have learned in each section.

Useful Websites Motor Accident Commision http://www.mac.sa.gov.au/

Transport statistics http://www.bitre.gov.au/info.aspx?NodeId=167

The University of Adelaide Centre for Automotive Safety Research http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/

Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/roadsafety

Street smart campaign for seniors http://www.raa.com.au/page.aspx?TerID=953

Road crash facts http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/roadsafety/road_crash_facts/ sa_crashes

Road safety http://www.raa.com.au/page.aspx?TerID=1224

Road safety timeline http://casr.adelaide.edu.au/dbtw-wpd/Timeline/timelinesearch.htm

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Backgrounder

The science of speeding What does driving a car safely have to do with science? A lot - scientific principles determine how a car will move and react in different situations, and can help researchers understand how crashes can be avoided. Here is some of the science behind road safety.

Energy Energy is the ability to do work. Any organism or machine that does work needs an energy source. Energy can be measured in units called joules (J). One joule of energy is used to lift a 100 gram mass one metre.

Types of energy

History of road safety Here’s a timeline of driving, road safety laws and our understanding of the physcis behind movement.

1330s

Italian inventors design wind-driven vehicles.

There are many different types of energy. These have been summarised in the table below.

1687 Newton

ENERGY TYPE

EXPLANATION

EXAMPLE

Kinetic

Movement

Moving car

Gravitational potential

Energy that an object has when it is up high.

A skier at the top of a ski slope, a falling object.

Elastic potential

The energy an object has when it is stretched.

A stretched rubber band or softness of a piece of sheet metal in a car bonnet.

1710s Thomas Newcomen builds

publishes his three laws of motion in a book called Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, commonly known as the Principia.

Title page of the first edition of Principia.

an early model of a steam engine.

1760s

Chemical potential

The energy that is stored in chemicals.

The energy in food or petrol.

James Watt builds a pressurised steam engine.

Nuclear

Energy released from atoms.

The reactions that occur to hydrogen in the Sun.

Étienne Lenoir patented the first practical gas engine in Paris.

Sound

Energy caused by vibrating objects.

Clapping your hands produces sound energy so do two cars colliding.

Henry Ford builds and sells his first cars.

Heat

Energy caused by the virbration of particles within an object.

An oven releases heat energy so does a car engine.

French chemist Edouard Benedictus.

Light

Energy released from very Television releases light hot objects or chemicals. energy.

Electrical

Energy caused by the movement of electrons.

1860s 1890s

1903 Safety glass is invented by 1920s Road safety record

keeping begins and the National Safety Council is formed.

1930s & 40s

The focus on safety grows with more countries and cities introducing drivers’ licenses and traffic lights.

WIKIMEDIA

The lights in a house use electrical energy.

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Backgrounder 1950s

Energy of Car Collisions Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. The movement of the pistons in a car engine (converted from the chemical energy of the petrol) is converted into the actual movement of the car. When a car collides with a stationary object the kinetic energy is converted into energy deforming the bonnet and any other area of the car and the object it hits. Heat and sound energy is also released.

If the mass of the vehicle accelerates due to a force acting on it there will be an increase in kinetic energy. The more kinetic energy there is the more that needs to be displaced when the vehicle collides. When the force acting on a vehicle is friction, the kinetic energy of the car is converted to heat energy, and sound energy if the brakes squeal, due to the friction required to slow it down.

When Formula 1 cars crash their external parts are designed to come to pieces and fly off in all directions while the driver remains strapped to the inner frame of the vehicle. The kinetic energy of the flying parts move a great deal of kinetic energy away from the vehicle so that there is less near the car that can harm the driver.

When two cars travelling at 50km/h hit each other head on the damage is the same as a car travelling 50km/h hitting a brick wall. It is easy to imagine the damage would be twice as bad because there is twice as much kinetic energy to convert due to the movement of both vehicles. But the damage is the same because even though there is twice as much kinetic energy, there are two bonnets to absorb it as they crumple.

Elastic energy is energy stored in a spring or piece of elastic. Although dodgem car collisions are somewhat elastic, where the kinetic energy of the moving car is absorbed by the spongy rubber and then converted back to kinetic energy as the dodgem car bounces away, collisions between metallic cars are not elastic. The kinetic energy of the moving car is converted into the energy required to crumple the bonnet or other panels when the car hits something.

There has been a great deal of research into the crumple effect of the bonnet of a vehicle to allow it to absorb as much of the kinetic energy of a car crash as possible so that the energy is not transferred to the passengers where it can cause major injury.

Forces A force is a push or a pull on an object and is needed for a change to take place in that object. For example forces are needed to start a car and make it move, and forces are also needed to slow it down.

Most countries require drivers to pass a test before getting behind the wheel of a car. Research into developing a crumple zone at the front of the car begins.

1960s

Anti lock brakes (to help prevent skidding) and rear head rests (to help prevent whiplash) are introduced into cars. The first crash test dummy ‘Sierra Sam’ is created.

In Australia, it becomes compulsory for all new cars to have fitted seatbelts.

Helmets become compulsory for motorbike riders.

Sierra Sam

1970s

Breath testing begins in Australia and seatbelts become compulsory for all passengers.

Australia introduces the first legislation requiring children to wear restraints when in vehicles.

1980s

Air bags are introduced in most car models. The first three speed cameras are used on Australian roads. A campaign begins in Australia to reduce default speed limit to 50 km/h.

1987 Earliest versions of

Electronic Stability Control (ESC), a technology utilised in vehicles to detect when the car is skidding.

ESC helps the driver correct the movement of the car by applying the brakes on the wheels so the driver has more control during the skid.

1990s 40 km zones near

schools in Australia are introduced.

2010s

Child restraint laws tightened to improve the safety of small children in cars.

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WIKiMEDIA; iSTOCKPHOTO

2000s

National Road Safety Strategy developed in Australia with the aim of reducing road fatalities by 40%.

Backgrounder Types of Forces There are many different types of forces. These have been summarised in the table below.

TYPE OF FORCE

EXPLANATION

EXAMPLE

Magnetic

A non-contact force between magnetic objects and objects that can be influenced by magnetic objects

Magnets are used in some motors but the ones we are most familiar with are those we use to stick things to the fridge door.

Electrostatic

A non-contact force between charged objects

Any objects with a negative or positive charge, such as the charge you feel after rubbing your feet on the carpet and then touching someone.

Gravity

An non-contact force between every object in the universe. Usually seen on Earth occurring between the massive Earth and objects that are attracted to Earth

The car sitting on the road as it drives is gravity at work. The contact the wheel shares with the ground allow it to move forward and stop. When you have to accelerate going up a hill or brake when coming down a hill it is because of gravity.

Mechanical

A contact force where we can see objects pushing and pulling each other.

The thrust that turns the wheels of a car and sends it forward.

Friction

A contact force that occurs when objects rub against Friction occurs between the tyres and the road each other. Friction opposes the direction of motion of and is very important in helping a car to stop. an object.

Friction causes heat – just try rubbing your hand together!

Air resistance

A contact that involves air particles pushing against a moving object.

Most cars are streamlined to reduce air resistance so that they require less energy to move along at the speed limit. Drag causes the car to slow down due to air resistance.

Lateral forces

Are also known as turning forces and occur when an object turns a corner.

As a car and the passengers in it turn the corner they want to stay travelling in a straight line.

When the car turns the passengers tend to move in the opposite direction to the turning car.

Forces

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When you start a car’s engine, fuel is mixed with air, fed into the cylinders and ignited. The mixture explodes. Expanding gases push the pistons down, which turns the crankshaft.

When you shift the transmission into gear, power is transmitted from the crankshaft to the wheels and the car starts to move. The forces acting upon the car have become unbalanced, and the car begins to accelerate and is thrust forward. If the ground is slippery, such when it is icy, the tyres cannot grip and the ground cannot match the force of the tyres and push it forward as easily.

Friction is a force that has an enormous effect on the motion of everyday objects and is very important to road safety. Friction is the opposing force of two objects rubbing together and produces heat. If the surfaces are rough there is a great deal of friction and if the surfaces are smooth there is very little friction. Without friction cars would have difficulty stopping. Anything that reduces friction, such as a wet slippery road or bald tyres threatens road safety.

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SAM DOECKE, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Careers, industry and courses

Profile: Sam Doecke Crash scene investigator and automotive engineer CASR, University of Adelaide When notice comes through from the South Australia ambulance service that there’s been a car crash, investigators from the Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) at the University of Adelaide have to act quickly.

Part of their job is to reconstruct the impact scenario in order to better understand and improve road safety, but to do this, it’s critical that the accident site is preserved until they arrive.

“If the vehicles have been moved, or if we have no clear indication of where the vehicles ended up, we may not even proceed with the investigation,” explains Sam Doecke, an investigator and automotive engineer at the CASR. Once on scene, Doecke and his colleagues liaise with emergency personnel before carefully marking the position of the vehicles and, if fatalities have occurred, any position of bodies.

Next they mark and measure physical evidence such as skid marks, scrapes and gouges in the road surface, and debris. They then take photographs of the scene, speak to witnesses and involved parties if possible, and conduct a detailed engineering survey of the site.

Back in the lab, the team puts all the information into a searchable database, draws a scaled diagram of the crash site and begins the process of piecing the accident together, hoping to identify the contributing factors – and perhaps, determine who was at fault.

“If there are really nice critical speed marks, where a vehicle has lost control and left long, curving skid marks along the road, we can use those to do a fairly basic calculation,” says Doecke.

But for crashes involving multiple vehicles, where they collide and spin out, the researchers rely on 3D computer modelling.

“Technically speaking it’s not reconstruction, because it doesn’t work backwards – it works forwards, so it’s more like

simulating until we get something that matches the physical evidence,” he says. “We’ll estimate the speed, and the impact, then do a run and see how close that is to matching what we know happened.”

This requires knowing as much information about the vehicles as possible, including their make, model and year, in order to determine their exact dimensions and mass.

For Doecke, who began his university career studying mechanical engineering before switching to automotive engineering, working with cars was always in the game plan.

“I always had an interest in vehicles and tinkering with the design,” recalls the 27-year-old, who has had a long-held interest in motor racing, and just recently began venturing out on the track himself.

In his final year of study he took a course called automotive safety, which was run by some of the researchers at the CASR. “It was the first time I heard of the centre,” he recalls, “and it really caught my interest – it was something I could do on the automotive engineering side of things that could really have a positive impact.”

And at the CASR, the Australian-born researcher has had a chance to make some significant contributions; authoring studies on how the number of casualty crashes on South Australian roads can be reduced by targeting lowlevel speeders, and simulating pedestrian impacts to gauge injury scenarios.

For Doecke, research into road and automobile safety has heralded an unforeseen appeal. “I never really intended to get into research per se,” he says, “but what’s quite interesting about research is that there are constantly new topics – it’s not repetitive. There’s always a new problem to solve, or a question to answer.” – Myles Gough

“It was something I could do that could really have a positive impact.”

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Careers, industry and courses

Road injuries cause 600,000 deaths in Southeast Asia every year and are currently the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. Rebecca Ivers, director of the Injury Division at The George Institute for Global Health and an associate professor at the University of Sydney, directs a research program that focuses on injury prevention, with a strong emphasis on preventing injuries from road crashes.

She and her research team examine how many people are affected by injury and the resulting disability, the risk factors involved, and how these injuries can be prevented. “Our research measures the size of the problem, and evaluates effectiveness of prevention programs.”

Ivers initially studied optometry at the University of New South Wales and worked in the government’s eye health and trachoma programs in the Northern Territory after graduation.

“I really wanted to do something where I felt like I could make a difference to people’s lives,” she said. “That’s been the thing that’s driven me all along.”

While she was in the Northern Territory, she became interested in public health, especially among Aboriginal communities in remote areas.

She returned to university and undertook a master’s in public health at the University of Sydney, which then led to a PhD in injury epidemiology.

She initially focused on studying the falls and fractures resulting from poor vision and identifying the associated risks for older people, before moving on to injuries caused by poor vision and road crashes. Then in 2000 she oversaw DRIVE, a study that assessed the risk factors for over 20,000 novice drivers.

“In that study we found that risky driving is linked to an increased risk of crash, as is self-harm behaviour. We also found that young rural drivers are at far greater risk of single-vehicle crashes, which are more likely to result in serious injury than other crash types,” Ivers said.

Her studies have also focused working with the government to understand and prevent road injuries in the Aboriginal communities.

Statistics indicate that members of these communities are twice as likely to die in a road accident and are 40% more likely to be injured, which can be attributed in part to the bad roads, older cars and less access to emergency services in remote services, according to Ivers.

REBECCA IVERS, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Profile: Rebecca Ivers Director of the Injury Division, George Institute for Global Health and associate Professor at the University of Sydney

Some of her other projects are aimed at understanding and preventing injuries in China, India and Vietnam.

In the case of injuries resulting from road accidents, the higher diversity of vehicles – including bicycles and motorbicycles – on the roads in Southeast Asia and the low levels of road rule enforcement contribute to the high injury toll. “There’s a whole multitude of risk factors,” said Ivers. – Laura Boness

“We found that young rural drivers are at far greater risk of single-vehicle crashes, which are more likely to result in serious injury than other crash types.”

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Engage [Task] Unsafe driving 1. In the table below, circle each of the unsafe driving issue on the images.

2. Identify why this is an unsafe driving practice by suggesting a possible dangerous outcome.

3. Write a brief sentence to explain to the driver what they must do to drive safely.

Unsafe scenario

Why is it unsafe?

What is the possible outcome?

Advice to the unsafe driver

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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Teacher’s information

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Explore (teacher’s page)

The aim of the Explore section is for the students to investigate some of the myths an ideas around road safety and ponder their possible impacts on the lives of their friends and family. It is intended that the students make their own discoveries about each station as well as experience inquiry based science as they work around the stations in the room.

The equipment table below lists the equipment and preparation required.

Station

Materials List

Station one Wearing a seat belt makes no difference if the driver is going at the speed limit when they hit something.

Toy car Ramp Plasticine String Elastic bands Small plastic figurine (or something to represent a figure) Ruler

Station two Small increases in speed do not increase the severity of a crash.

Toy car Ramp Something to crash the car into, such as plasticine that can be put up against a hard surface

Station three The mass of a car does not affect the damage it can do in a collision.

Two toy cars with different mass Ramp Plasticine A wall or something solid to crash in to

Station four Friction and stopping distance

Station five How safe is your pet?

Two toy cars Vaseline Oil Ramp Smooth plastic sheet Glad wrap A computer to play the following video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBX_UxuIf_Y&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Station six Glossary of terms

Science dictionary or science text book

Station seven Forces at work

No equipment needed, just the image on the worksheet

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Explore (student activities) Station one [Task] Bust the myth: wearing a seat belt makes no difference if the driver is going at the speed limit when they hit something.

1. Use the materials provided by your teacher to conduct a simple investigation to find out if attaching a ‘driver’ to the car

with a seatbelt is safer when the car hits a solid object than not attaching the driver.

2. What method did you use to attempt to find out if the seat belt makes a difference during collision?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station two [Task] Bust the myth: do small increases in speed increase the severity of a car crash?

1. Use the materials provided to design and conduct a simple investigation to find out if increases in speed affect the impact

of a car crashing into a wall.

2. What method did you use to attempt to try to find the effect of small increases in speed on the severity of a car crash?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station three [Task] Bust the myth: does the mass of a car affect the damage it can do in a collision?

1. Use the materials provided to design and conduct a simple investigation to find out if the mass of a car affects the damage

it can cause another object after a collision.

2. What method did you use to attempt to try to find out the effect of the mass of a car during a collision?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station four [Task] Do you think of your pet when you take it for a trip in the car?

1. Watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBX_UxuIf_Y&feature=endscreen&NR=1 2. What are the dangers to your pet in a car if they are not wearing a seatbelt-type restraint?

3. What are the dangers to the driver and passengers if a pet is not wearing a seatbelt type restraint?

4. What other ways can pets be restrained in a car?

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Explore (student activities) Station five [Task] What effect do slippery surfaces have on stopping distance?

1. Use the materials provided to design and conduct a simple investigation to find out if slippery tyres or a slippery road

affects stopping distance.

2. What method did you use to attempt to try to find out if slippery surfaces affect stopping distance?

3. What is your conclusion?

4. If you are unsure if you managed to conduct a fair and reliable experiment in order to answer the question, why do you

think this is? What else could you do to test it?

Station six [Task] Predict what each of these terms mean and then use a science dictionary or your text book to write the scientific definition.

WORD

PREDICTED MEANING

SCIENTIFIC MEANING

Speed

Velocity

Mass

Momentum

Energy

Kinetic energy

Force

Acceleration

Motion

Collision

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Explore (student activities) Station seven

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[Task] Which forces are at work when a car is moving along the road?

1. Label the image above to show the forces that are at work when a car drives down the street.

Include the following forces in action on a moving car: friction, air resistance, push, drag, thrust and gravity.

2. Use arrows to show the direction of the action of the force.

Summary 1. Which station was your favourite? Why? 2. At which station did you learn the most? What did you learn?

3. What questions do you have about speed and car collisions after completing these activities?

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Teacher’s information

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Explain (introduction)

In this section, we explain the science of road safety by getting students to read Cosmos articles and other information about road safety issues. This section suggests discussion topics and activities linked to those articles.

Before reading any of the articles there is a brainstorm activity to get students thinking about some of the unsafe behaviours that may lead to road accidents.

Each article will have its own literacy activities, which includes: • Glossary • Comprehension and summary • Questioning toolkit The articles include: Article one – Road crash statistics This article introduces the official statistics about Australia’s road crashes. It is a good place to start when thinking about why we can never give up on trying to improve safety on the roads. The information is taken from the National Road Safety Council website http://www.nrsc.gov.au/road_crash_statistics/index.aspx.

Article two – The physics of road safety This article discusses the interesting physics of road crashes and shows how science can debunk many of the myths we have about road safety. Examples include the myth that going a few km/h over the speed limit has no real safety risk.

Article three – True story: it’s a miracle my best friend and I survived the car crash A driver’s account of a lucky escape from a car accident.

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Explain (article one) Brainstorming [Task] Model the worst driver ever Around the figure below, draw or write some of the behaviours or actions of someone who is not a responsible driver.

Consider the following: • What they might have been doing just before they started driving that would compromise how well they drove • The kinds of activities they might try to do, or be forced to do while driving that would reduce their focus and ability to drive well • Their general attitude to driving and other drivers on the road with them • Any unsafe conditions of their vehicle or their environment they are not responding to

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When you have completed your ‘worst driver ever’ brainstorm, share your ideas with the rest of the class.

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Explain (article one)

Road crash statistics Road crashes result in about 1,500 fatalities and 30,000 hospital admissions each year.

The annual cost to the national economy is estimated to be $27 billion.

Australian road deaths for 12 months over the last 10 years

months.

This graph shows the total number of road deaths in Australia from 2000 to 2010.

Data and graph from: http://www.nrsc.gov.au/road_crash_statistics/index.aspx

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Explain (article one) Glossary [Task] Use the table to define any science or technical words that are related to this article.

Word

Definition

Hospital admission

Fatality

Summarising [Task] In your exercise book, complete the following questions.

1. How many people die on Australian roads each year?

2. What is the general trend for road fatalities from 2000 to 2010?

3. What is the estimated cost of road accidents to the Australian economy?

4. Draw a line of best fit on graph 1 over the top of the line graph provided using your ruler. Extend this line to predict the number of road deaths in 2015.

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Explain (article one) Questioning toolkit [Task] Below are a series of discussion questions in the form of a questioning toolkit. Choose some or all of the questions, or ask some of your own.

Write your ideas and opinions relating to each of the different types of questions.

Inspired by Jamie McKenzie’s Questioning Toolkit - McKenzie, Jamie (2000) Beyond Technology, FNO Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA (www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html).

Type of question

Your ideas and opinions

Essential questions These are the most important and central questions.

They probe the deepest issues that confront us and can be difficult to answer.

Question: Why do road accidents occur? Why do you think the number of road fatalities have fallen over the last 40 years even though there are more drivers and cars on the road?

Subsidiary questions These questions help us to manage our information by finding the most relevant details.

Questions: Most road fatalities occur during the day, why do you think this happens and there aren’t more accidents at night? Why are there still fatalities when cars travelling at less than 100km/h? Does driving even a little over the speed limit still increase the level of danger if there is an accident?

Hypothetical questions Questions designed to explore the possibilities, the ‘what ifs’? They are useful when we want to test our hunches.

Questions: Do you think that if less people drove and more people rode their bikes or walked to where they had to be each day that the number of road fatalities would decrease?

If the roads were just as busy at night as they are during the day do you think the majority of accidents would still occur during the day?

Provocative questions Questions to challenge convention.

Questions: Will it ever be possible to have a zero fatalities road accident outcome for any given year in the future? Why do you think driving is so popular even though it is one of the most unsafe ways to travel?

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about thetwo) guide Explain (article

The physics of road safety F

or many people, driving becomes routine. They buckle themselves in and turn the key in the ignition; check mirrors, shift into gear and seamlessly pull away into traffic. But sometimes on the road people cheat, speeding just a few kilometres per hour (km/h) over the speed limit in an effort to shave a few minutes off their travel time.

Travelling 65 km/h in a 60 zone might seem like a minor offense, and it may not result in a speeding ticket, but it could factor into the chance of being in a crash.

In a February 2011 study, researchers from the University of Adelaide watched vehicles at 127 different sites in South Australia where speed limits ranged from 50 to 110 km/h. They analysed crash sites where injuries or deaths occurred and found that the best way to reduce the number of car crash injuries would be to target low level speeders – those going just 1 to 5 km/h above the limit.

These results supported another report 10 years before that found the risk of being involved in a dangerous collision doubled with each 5 km/h speed increase above 60 km/h. This means that a car driving at 65 km/h in a 60 zone would be twice as likely to be involved in a crash resulting in death or hospitalisation than a car keeping to the speed limit. This risk is four times higher for a car racing at 70 km/h.

SO WHY IS there so much more of a risk from a comparatively minor speed hike? First, it takes the average driver 1.5 seconds to react to a hazard on the road, such as a cyclist or animal, but this can be longer if the driver is tired, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or distracted by texting, for example.

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It is also important to consider the vehicle’s braking distance – how far it will travel before coming to a stop? This distance depends on the speed the car is travelling but also on many other things, including how good the brakes are, the slope of the road – when travelling uphill, gravity can help to slow things down – and the conditions of the road surface. “What sometimes happens on a wet road is that the brakes lock up and the car skids,” says physicist John Storey from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, noting that icy conditions can increase stopping distance by up to 10 times.

And the faster or heavier a vehicle is, the more damage it will do. This is because the energy of the moving vehicle (its kinetic energy; the energy an object possesses due to motion) is used up and transferred into another form – such as heat or sound. “In the case of a typical car crash the energy is used up crumpling and deforming the metal – it takes energy to smash and bend steel,” says Storey.

Say one car is travelling at 50 km/h and another at 55 km/h. Where the second car is travelling 10% faster than the first, it will have 20% more kinetic energy. If we suppose the car was travelling at 100 km/h, or double the speed of the first car, then the kinetic energy would increase by four.

“That could make the difference between a minor ding in your car and a serious smash,” says forensic physicist Rod Cross from the University of Sydney. “It could make the difference between a fracture in the skull or a guy being outright killed.”

KINETIC ENERGY IS also an important consideration when judging the result of a larger vehicle hitting a smaller vehicle or a

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pedestrian. “Each individual car carries its own kinetic energy into the collision, and assuming the cars are identical, then each of the cars absorbs its own kinetic energy,” says Storey. “Sure, you’ve got twice as much kinetic energy because there are two cars, but you’ve also got twice as many cars to spread the energy over.”

However, if one car was heavier or faster, than the result would instantly change – with the smaller car or the pedestrian suffering more damage. “If you collide a light object with a heavy object it’s the lighter object that rebounds more,” says Storey. “Think of a ball hitting a bat, the ball rebounds while the bat tends not to.”

According to statistics from the Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, there were 1,315 road deaths between August 2010 and August 2011. Six hundred and seven of those deaths were drivers, 275 were passengers, 204 were motorcyclists, 189 were pedestrians and 39 were cyclists.

The good news is this figure has been decreasing over the last five years. But one worrying figure is the difference between male and female deaths. In 2011, men accounted for more than 70% of all fatalities on Australian roads.

So could a reduced speed limit help prevent fatalities? In a 2004 study, researchers from the University of Adelaide Centre for Automotive Safety Research looked at a decision by the South Australian government to reduce the default urban speed limit from 60 km/h to 50 km/h. They found that average vehicle speed decreases by 2.3 km/h and the number of road crash casualties by 24%.

It’s a small change that could make a big difference to the safety of our roads.

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Speeding just a little above the limit can greatly affect the likelihood of a collision, writes Myles Gough.

about the three) guide Explain Explain (article (article two) Glossary

[Task] Use the table to define any science or technical terms that are related to this story.

Term

Definition

Low level speeders Braking distance Gravity Kinetic energy Urban

Summarising [Task] In your exercise book, answer the following questions.

1. Which branch of science conducts research on the effects of speeding and collision?

2. How do the following affect the braking distance of a car?

(a) The slope of the road

(b) How much water is on the road

(c) Ice on the road

(d) The condition of the car’s tyres 3. Define ‘kinetic energy’ and give some examples.

4. Describe what happens to the energy in a car crash when a car hits a wall?

5. What happens when two cars hit head on if:

(a) one has greater mass than the other but is travelling at the same speed

(b) they both have the same mass but one is going faster

(c) they both have the same mass and are travelling at the same speed.

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Explain (article two) Questioning toolkit [Task] Below are a series of discussion questions in the form of a questioning toolkit. Choose some or all of the questions, or ask some of your own.

Write your ideas and opinions relating to each of the different types of questions.

Inspired by Jamie McKenzie’s Questioning Toolkit - McKenzie, Jamie (2000) Beyond Technology, FNO Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA (www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html).

Type of question

Your ideas and opinions

Essential questions These are the most important and central questions.

They probe the deepest issues that confront us and can be difficult to answer.

Question: Why does a few kilometres over the speed limit increase the risk of a road accident? How can gathering information at the scene of an accident help prevent another accident?

Subsidiary questions These questions help us to manage our information by finding the most relevant details.

Questions: What sorts of things could cause a driver to brake really quickly and hence set them up for an accident? How can the researchers at Adelaide University make their research known to everyday drivers so that they won’t take risks by with low level speeding?

Hypothetical questions Questions designed to explore the possibilities, the ‘what ifs’? They are useful when we want to test our hunches.

Questions: In the future if we all drive electric cars with a maximum speed of 40 km/h how much safer would the roads be? If you were a road safety engineer what kinds of technology would you work on to help reduce the way the destructive energy in a car crash is spread to the car and not to the people in the car?

Provocative questions Questions to challenge convention.

Questions: Why do you think more males are injured or die in road accidents than females? Why do people continue to take risks when driving even though they are increasing the chance of an accident?

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Explain (article three)

It’s a miracle my best friend and I survived In this true story, a day at the beach ends in a terrifying car crash for a girl and her best friend.

O

n the 4 September 2010, it was beautiful sunny day when my best friend Kate and I set out to have a fabulous picnic at Kai Iwi beach e were at the beach for a couple of hours before I had soccer practise, which Kate came to watch. As we drove off from the beach we sang to Miley Cyrus, the CD began to play up and I asked her to change the music.

The road we were on was called Rapanui Road, which is a long narrow counry road, a very dangerous road.

Kate began to play around and she was pressing the wrong buttons, I looked down to show her the button she should be pressing.

I took my eyes of the road for at the most 2 seconds, it was a bad mistake.

I looked up to see the left hand side of my car on the long grass, I started to panic as I realised what I’d done, I tried to take control but my car started to skid.

I swerved too fast to the right and go over the other side of the line, luckily no cars were coming in that direction. By this time I’d lost total control of my little

Suzuki Swift 1990. The car was now back on the grass on the left side, I pulled on the brakes but it didn’t make a difference, the car was skidding and I looked up to see we were both heading for a tall concrete power pole.

The only things going through my mind were, “I’m about to die”, “this is it”, I closed my eyes as we hit the power pole, the car swung around to face the road. I looked to Kate to see if she was okay, that was all

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I jumped out of the car to see sparks everywhere, wires all over the ground, but I just ran. Three steps and I stepped on a solid black power line, the electric shock happened very fast, and it was like a small electric shock times a million.

It was blank from then on, until I lay on the grass further down the road with my hand being held tight by my best friend. People were everywhere, I saw them taking photos. Five cop cars, one ambulance and two fire trucks.

We were taken to Wanganui hospital, where we had many procedures. The electric shock went through my left foot and out of my chest/neck area. I walked away the day after the car accident with only bad burn marks on my neck. We are very lucky girls. It is unbelievable we survived the crash and that we are still able to walk. The car was completely crushed.

Someone was definitely watching over us and I’m so thankful to still have my best friend with me.

This is an edited version of a story from the Experience Project: experienceproject.com

The only things going through my mind were, “I’m about to die”, “this is it”.

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that mattered to me, I wanted to know that my best friend wasn’t hurt. Within two seconds I saw the power pole falling, falling on top of us, so quick, it happened so fast. The pole fell right the centre of my car. I felt the glass break all over my face. Without thinking I yelled, “RUN”.

I didn’t know if Kate had been hit by the pole, I could only hope she was unharmed.

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Explain (article three) Summary [Task] Describe this story to a friend in a couple of sentences.

Questioning toolkit [Task] Below are a series of discussion questions in the form of a questioning toolkit. Choose some or all of the questions, or ask some of your own.

Write your ideas and opinions relating to each of the different types of questions.

Inspired by Jamie McKenzie’s Questioning Toolkit - McKenzie, Jamie (2000) Beyond Technology, FNO Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA (www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html).

Type of question

Your ideas and opinions

Essential questions These are the most important and central questions.

They probe the deepest issues that confront us and can be difficult to answer.

Question: What is the main message in this story? Why do you think this story was included here?

Subsidiary questions These questions help us to manage our information by finding the most relevant details.

Questions: How could the driver have prevented this accident? How could Kate have prevented this accident? How do you think the driver and Kate’s behaviour might change next time they want to change the music in the car?

Hypothetical questions Questions designed to explore the possibilities, the ‘what ifs’? They are useful when we want to test our hunches.

Questions: If they had been travelling faster in the car when they had the accident, what might have happened?

Provocative questions Questions to challenge convention.

Questions: Should a driver lose their licence for having had an accident? If Kate doesn’t want to get in the car again with her friend because she had an accident, do you think her behaviour is justified?

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Explain (summarising) Bringing it all together [Task] In your exercise book, complete the following activites related to all of the four articles.

1. Which was your favourite article and why?

2. Create a mind map to show the relationship between all the different articles related to road safety.

3. List three big issues that you have learnt about from the articles.

4. Suggest why it is important to learn about the science behind road safety and low level speeding.

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About the Cosmos matrix What is the COSMOS Science Matrix?

A learning matrix such as the COSMOS Science Matrix is a flexible classroom tool designed to meet the needs of a variety of different learning styles across different levels of capabilities. Students learn in many different ways – some are suited to hands-on activities, others are strong visual learners, some enjoy intellectually challenging, independent hands-off activities, while others need more guidance. The matrix provides a smorgasbord of science learning activities from which teachers and/or students can choose.

Can I use the matrix for one or two lessons, or for a whole unit of study?

Either! The matrix is designed to be time flexible as well as educationally flexible. A time frame for each activity is suggested on the matrix. Choose to complete one activity, or as many as you like.

Is there room for student negotiation?

Yes! Students can be given a copy of the matrix and choose their own activities, or design their own activities in consultation with their classroom teacher.

Can I use the matrix for a class assessment?

Yes! You can set up a point system – perhaps one lesson equals one point. Students can be given a number of points to complete. If they choose less demanding activities, they will have to complete more of them.

What do the row headings mean?

Row heading

Description of activity

Scientific procedure

Hands-on activities that follow the scientific method. Includes experiments and surveys. Great for kinaesthetic and logical learners, as well as budding scientists.

Science philosophy

Thinking about science and its role in society. Includes discussion of ethical issues, debates and hypothetical situations. An important part of science in the 21st century.

Being creative with science

For all those imaginative students with a creative flair. Great for visual and musical learners and those who like to be innovative with the written word.

Science time travel

Here we consider scientific and technological development as a linear process by looking back in time or travelling creatively into the future.

‘Me’ the scientist

Personalising the science experience in order to engage students more deeply.

Communicating Using images to communicate complex science ideas. with graphics ICT

Exploring the topic using computers and the Internet.

What do the column headings mean?

1. Read and revise

2. Read and relate

3. Read and review

Designed to enhance student comprehension of information.

Gives the student the opportunity to apply or transfer their learning into a unique format.

Involves the more challenging tasks of analysing, and/or assessing information in order to create and express new ideas and opinions.

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Elaborate Scientific procedure

Science philosophy

Being creative with science

Science time travel

‘Me’ the scientist

Communicating with graphics ICT

Design a road safety poster or bill board to show the dangers of low level speeding.

A teenager with a second hand car has just won $1,000 and wants to spend it on his car. Would it be safer for him to upgrade the quality of his tyres so that they have better grip, or tint his windows so that people cannot see in?

Conduct an experiment to find out which kind of seatbelt is the safest, a lap only, a lap sash, or a full harness. See Experiment 1.

1. Read and revise – one or two lessons

Imagine you are a science educator. Design a fun lesson or class activity to explain the science behind one safety feature in a new car, such as how airbags, anti-locking brakes, cargo barriers or the locking action of seatbelts works. Make sure there is a practical activity to complement the theory. Check with your teacher to see if you can present the lesson to the rest of the class. OR Design a practical lesson to demonstrate how Energy = ½ mv2 works.

Watch this silent film of a 1921 grand prix car race. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g2Mfj_dCn8&feature=related How many dangers for the driver and spectators can you spot?

How is the car unsafe? Compare to footage of a modern-day grand prix race if you need to.

If you double the velocity of a car you quadruple the stopping time. Come up with a creative way to visually show drivers how this works.

Car and motorbike racing is inherently dangerous for drivers, their crew and the spectators, with many injuries and deaths being recorded over the history of the sport. Why do you think humans pursue such dangerous careers and pastimes? What is it in human nature that is attracted to a sport even though it has been responsible for its fair share of tragedy?

Choose one of the experimental activities you undertook in the circuit of activities, such as how lack of friction affects stopping time or whether the speed of a car affects its stopping time, and improve your methodology so that you can conduct a properly controlled scientific investigation. Use any extra materials you may need. A template is provided for this investigation. See Experiment 2.

2. Read and relate – three or four lessons

Use a Venn diagram to compare road safety issues when driving a 60 tonne truck compared to driving a 1 tonne car. Include information in relation to the percentage of lane space they take up, their mass, acceleration time, breaking distance, overtaking rules and speed limits.

You are a car engineer. Explain how racing cars are constructed differently to domestic cars so that when they crash, bits fly off and take the kinetic energy with them so that less of the impact can harm the driver. Why can’t domestic cars do this? Where does the kinetic energy go when domestic cars crash?

Explain what kinetic energy is and how car engineers design cars so that the kinetic energy of a moving car can be converted to do the least harm to the passengers.

Write a dialogue between two passengers in the back seat of a smart car with the new Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) capabilities. The one passenger is explaining to the other how it works as radio signals inform the driver of potential dangers such as slow vehicles up ahead, fast approaching emergency vehicles, faulty traffic lights and roadwork hazards. Research DSRC technology to find out how it would communicate to a driver and assist them to avoid an accident.

If style and money were no object, design a safety car with internal and external features that would reduce the amount of injuries to the passengers after a collision. Consider how the kinetic energy from the impact could be converted or transferred to the car rather than to the occupants of the car. Ideas to consider: changing the length of the crumple zone of the bonnet, the position and size of airbags.

Physics has shown that bull bars can increase the damage to both pedestrians and passengers in a car during a crash. This is because they make the crumple zone of a car less effective. Some countries have banned bull bars on fourwheel drives. Should Australia do the same? Research the authentic arguments for and against bull bars in metropolitan areas. Communicate your opinion as a letter to the editor, a blog or any similar format. You could also conduct a class debate to expose the issues proposed by both sides of the argument.

Design, conduct and write up an experiment that demonstrates: Energy = ½ mv2 In other words, how 2x speed gives you 4x longer braking distance

3. Read and review – four or five lessons

What happens to you and any other passengers in the car when it brakes suddenly? Why do you think this happens?

Use Powerpoint, or any other graphic tool, to show the forces acting on a car going uphill.

Research a range of computer applications that are designed to promote road safety. Which do you think could be the most useful and/or the most effective?

Either design your own road safety app or describe in detail an idea for an app that would help improve safety on the road.

Using Excel, tabulate the data in the graph presented in the first article of the Explain section.

Can you imagine a future without car accidents? Why or why not?

Make a mind map of information in the physics of driving article.

Ask your teacher to register with Scootle (if they haven’t already) and have a go at the following learning objects: ‘Car safety check: before buying’, code TLF ID L1367 and ‘Give me a brake’, code TLF ID L52.

OR Play some road safety games at: www.safetymatters.renault.co.uk/media/games/index.php?id=3 Improve this town by making its roads safer OR Road safety hangman at www.rapsforkids.com.au/wordguess.php

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Experiment 1

Which type of seat belt is the safest?

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Background Information Depending on which type of vehicle you travel in, how old you are and which decade you spent most of your time in a car, there are three types of seatbelts you could have worn. Lap seat belts, like those on aeroplanes, are worn across the lap; lap sash seatbelts are those that have both a strap across the waist and one diagonally across the chest, such as the ones we commonly use today; and a harness seatbelt has straps over both shoulders and one horizontally across the chest.

Aim To find out which seat belt is the safest to have in a car.

Materials • Rag doll (optional) • Plasticine • Cardboard box (such as a shoe box) that the doll can fit inside • String • Scissors • Masking tape • Round plastic lid (to be used a a steering wheel) • Piece of dowling (to be used as the steering column) Risk Analysis Risk

Precaution

Consequence

Sharp pointy scissors

Method 1. Cover the rag doll with a thin layer of plasticine across the chest, head, arms and legs. Alternatively make a

plasticine figure.

2. Make two holes in the back of the box with the pointy end of the scissors.

3. Wrap a piece of string around the waist of the doll and then through the holes in the box so that the back of the doll is

attached to the box by the string ‘seatbelt’.

4. Put the lid on the box or fold lid over and secure with masking tape.

5. Hold the box so that the doll inside the box is facing the floor.

6. Let the box go so that it hits the floor.

7. Open the box and examine the markings on the plasticine caused by the impact and the seatbelt.

8. Record your observations in the results table.

9. Repeat steps 3 to 8 using a lap sash seatbelt on the doll.

10. Repeat steps 3 to 8 using a harness seatbelt on the doll.

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Elaborate Results Observations after head on collision (dropping the box) Seat belt type

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Lap

Lap sash

Harness

Discussion How was this doll and box model able to show the effects of a real head on collision in a car?

How was this model limited in showing the effects of a real head in collision in a car?

Which seat belt caused the least damage to the doll?

Why do you think the other two seatbelts are used, if this one is the safest?

1.

2.

3.

4.

Conclusion In your exercise book, write a conclusion that responds to the aim and summarises your results.

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Elaborate

Experiment 2 Reviewing experiments Background Information In the TV show Mythbusters, as well as in real life science, experiments are often analysed for their ability to really answer the question that was asked in the first place. Each new attempt at an experiment tries to make the test more valid, that is, fairer.

Scientists check that all variables except the one being tested are not having an effect, and that the method used will allow the research question to be answered. In school science we rarely have time for this.

Choose one of the experiments from the circuit of activities and have a go at redesigning it so that it will be more valid. Use any extra materials you may need.

You can choose from: Does lack of grip on the tyres affect stopping time?

Do wet slippery roads affect stopping time?

Does the speed the car is travelling at affect its stopping time?

Does the mass of a car affect the stopping time?

What happens to a pet in the back seat during an accident if they are not restrained with a seatbelt?

Fill in the template below as you plan and conduct your experiment.

Research question (Write the question you want to investigate below.)

Aim (Turn the research question into an experimental aim below.)

To find out...

Hypothesis (Say what you think will happen and why.)

Materials (Write a list of materials that you will use in this investigation.)

• • • • • • • • • •

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Elaborate Risk analysis (Identify any risks associated with this investigation. Ask your teacher to check your risk analysis before you continue with your investigation.)

Risk

Precaution

Consequence

Method (Write instructions for your investigation here so that someone independent could follow them and carry out the

exact same experiment that you did.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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Elaborate Results (Design a table to collect the data taken from several trials. You may want to include an average of the trials).

Discussion Answer the following questions in your exercise book.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Were your results similar to your hypothesis?

Do you think that you answered the research question? Why or why not?

Identify any difficulties you had when trying to bust this myth and how you overcame them.

If there was no limit to the money, space, time and equipment that could be used to answer this research question, what method could you use?

Conclusion In your exercise book, write a conclusion that summarises your results and responds to the aim.

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Evaluate

Across 9. We need to do this to the number of road fatalities.

11. When riding a bike, this must be worn.

12. Talking on the phone while driving can reduce this.

13. Under what age can you ride your bike on the pavement?

15. This should be done to a passenger pet when travelling in a car.

17. Low level speeding is up to how many kilometres over the speed limit?

18. What is the speed limit outside a school at the start of a school day?

RiAus PD plus: Speeding

Down: 1. automobile, 2.kinetic, 3. ambulance, 4. drunk, 5. longer, 6. seatbelt, 7. moving, 8. breaks, 10. rain, 14. never, 15. RSE, 16. amber

Across: 9. reduce, 11. helmet, 12. concentration, 13. eleven, 15. restrained, 17. five, 18. forty

Speeding crossword

Down 1. Royal ? Association 2. The energy of movement 3. These people can legally go above speed limit.

4. Never get in the car with someone in this condition.

5. The braking distance going downhill is ___________ compared to uphill.

6. Everyone in the car must have their own.

7. A seatbelt must be worn when the car is doing what?

8. When driving long distances, what should the driver take regularly?

10. This can make the roads slippery and increase braking distance.

14. When is it okay to throw something to the driver when in a car?

15. Road safety education (abbreviation) 16. What is the colour of caution on a traffic light?

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Find the following words hidden backwards, forwards, diagonally, downwards and upwards: air bags, attention, awareness, campaigns, caution, check mirrors, concentrate, drivers licence, education, give way, hazard, impact, reaction time, respect, responsibility, revive, road signs, road works, school zones, slow down, sober, speed limit, statistics

Create your own road safety quiz a) Ask each student to call out a word related to road safety. Record these on the board.

b) Each student must pick six words from the board and write a definition for each. c) Students then pick four more words from the board and write a paragraph describing them. They should highlight their

chosen words in the paragraph.

from the board. They should show links between words and write along lines connecting words to show how the terms are related.

d) Students create a concept map showing all they have learnt about road safey and speeding using at least half the words

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Evaluate Speeding individual unit review What about you?

Drawing

Are you a safe pedestrian and passenger in the car?

How has this unit helped you understand how to be safe on the roads?

Create an image that summarised this unit of work for you.

Learning Summary Write five dot points of things that you learnt about road safety.

Your philosophy What is your new philosophy about road safety and speeding? How has studying this unit of work on road safety changed your behavior as either a pedestrian, bike rider or driver? What can you do to make the road a safer place for yourself, your family and for fellow citizens?

More questions?

Metacognition

Write three questions that you still have about road safety.

RiAus PD plus: Speeding

Which part of this unit of study on road safety had the biggest impact on you? Why?

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