MODULE3:ROADSAFETYAUDITSLesson1:SCHOOLZONESAFETYAUDIT

GRADELEVEL:9–12

Allstudentsareprobablyawareofmethodsfortrafficsafetyaroundtheirschools–possiblespecialroadwaysignage,reducedspeedlimitsduringdrop-offandpick-uptimes,exclusiveroutingandwaitingareasforbusesandforparents,andmarkedcrosswalkswithcrossingguards.Thislessonchallengesstudentstothinkcriticallyaboutthesafetyaspectsofthetransportationroutesanddevicesaroundtheirownschools.

CreatedBy:

NanoSonic,Inc.

GilesCountyPublicSchools

Leidos

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Lesson1: SchoolZoneSafetyAuditContributedby:NanoSonic,Leidos,GilesCountyPublicSchools

GradeLevel:9-12

LessoninthisModule:1of1

TimeRequired:90-120minutes

LessonDependency:None

Keywords:roadsafetyaudit,schoolzone

RelatedCurriculum

SubjectAreas

Science;technology;engineering;mathematics

CurricularUnits

Intelligenttransportationsystems

Activities

CreatingaMapoftheArea;InvestigationTime!;Establishingaplantoimprovesafety!

EducationalStandards

ThislessonplananditsassociatedactivitiesarecorrelatedtothenationalstandardsintheeachofthecoredisciplineareasofSTEM:NextGenerationScienceStandards,AmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScienceStandards,StandardsforTechnologicalLiteracy,InternationalSocietyforTechnologyinEducationStandards,CommonCoreMathematicsStandards,andtheNationalCouncilofTeachersofMathematicsStandards.

Pre-RequisiteKnowledge

None.

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LearningObjectives

• Studentswilldiagramtheschoolpropertyandsurroundingtransportationinfrastructure.

• Studentswillinterviewlocalpersonnelabouttransportationsafetyconcernsaroundtheschool.

• StudentswilllearnaboutavailableITSsolutionsandmakedecisionsaboutimplementationofsafetyimprovements.

• Studentswillconstructamodelthatincludesthenewtransportationimprovements.

Introduction/Motivation

Allstudentsareprobablyawareofmethodsfortrafficsafetyaroundtheirschools–possiblespecialroadwaysignage,reducedspeedlimitsduringdrop-offandpick-uptimes,exclusiveroutingandwaitingareasforbusesandforparents,andmarkedcrosswalkswithcrossingguards.Thislessonchallengesstudentstothinkcriticallyaboutthesafetyaspectsofthetransportationroutesanddevicesaroundtheirownschools.Althoughallschoolsaredifferentintheirtransportationmethodsandneeds,thislessonwilladdresstherequirementsofabroadrangeofschoollocations.

LessonBackground&ConceptsforTeachers

Aroadsafetyaudit(RSA),asdefinedbytheFederalHighwayAdministration,isaformalevaluationofaroad’sstatuswithrespecttoexistingormissingsafetyfeatures.RSAsareconductedwithateamofprofessionalsfromavarietyofdifferentbackgroundsfromtransportationengineerstolawenforcementofficerstoadvocacygroupsandcommunitymembers.Inplainlanguage,anRSAisacloselookataparticularroadorintersectiontoidentifypotentialsafetyissues.EachRSAhasateamthatiscomprisedofmembersthatarenotintimatelyfamiliarwiththespecificlocationandwhorepresentavarietyoftransportationsafetyexpertise.

Expandingthisconcepttoschoolzones,wherestudentsafetyisatoppriority,aschoolzonesafetyauditisanRSAthatoccurswithinaschoolzone.Inthiscase,theRSAteammaybecomprisedofengineers,lawenforcementofficers,schoolbusdrivers,crossingguards,parents,students,etc.Themaingoalofaroadsafetyauditistoidentifypotentialsafetyissueswithinroadwaysectionsandpresentsolutionstomakethoseroadwayssaferforallroadwayusers,includingpassengervehicles,trucks,bicycles,andpedestrians.Schoolzonesafetyauditsarethusespeciallyimportantduetothelargeamountofbuses,vehicles,andpedestrianstravelinginandoutoftheschoolzoneatconcentratedtimesoftheday(i.e.beforeschoolandafterschool).

• StepsofaSchoolZoneSafetyAudit

Thetwomainpartiesinvolvedinaschoolzonesafetyauditcanbeschools,residents,parentsofstudents,andothersneartheschoolzone(hereinreferredtoasthe“initiator”)inquestionandtheRSA

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teamitself.Therearetypicallyeightstepstoperformingaschoolzonesafetyaudit.Thefirsttwosteps,identifyingtheschoolzoneandselectingtheRSAteam,arepartoftheinitiators’responsibilities.ThenextfourstepsareperformedbytheRSAteam.Thesestepsaretoconductastart-upmeeting,performfieldreviewsoftheschoolzonebeinganalyzed,conductanalysisandprepareafinalreport,andpresentfindingstotheinitiators.ThefinaltwostepsoftheRSAprocessarefortheinitiatorstoprepareaformalresponsetothefinalreportandtoincorporatetheRSAfindingsandrecommendations.

• BenefitstoPerformingaSchoolZoneSafetyAudit

Successfullyperformingaschoolzonesafetyauditandsubsequentlytakingthenecessarystepstoimplementthesuggestedsolutionsforsolvingthesafetyissuesidentifiedintheauditcanhavemanybenefits.Typically,schoolzonesafetyauditsarecost-effective,meaningthatthebenefitsgainedfromimprovingsafetyoutweighsthecostsofperformingtheauditandimplementingthesuggestedsolutions.Thequantifiablebenefitsofroadsafetyauditsincludereducingthenumberofcrashes(andassociatedinjuriesandfatalities),reducednumberofliabilityclaimsassociatedwithschoolzonecrashes,andreducedcostofmaintainingnewersignsandequipment.

• GoogleMaps

GoogleMapsisanessentialpartofActivity1.WithinGoogleMaps,ausercansearchforalocationbygoingtohttps://www.google.com/mapsandtypinginthelocation,whetheritbethenameofabuilding(i.e.aschool,hospital,grocerystore,etc.),thenameofatown,orevenastreetname/intersection.Themapscanbedisplayedasastandardaerialmap(“Map”)orasasatelliteimage(“Earth”).Togglingbetweenviewscanbedonebyclickingthesquareinthelowerleft-handcorner,whichshouldsayeither“Map”or“Earth”,dependingonwhichviewthemapisdisplaying.

GoogleMapsoffersauniquefeaturecalledGoogleStreetViewwhichprovidesmapuserswiththeabilitytoviewanimageofthelocationasiftheywerephysicallystandingordrivingontheroad.Itcanbeaccessedinoneoftwoways.Thefirstoptionistoclickanddragtheyellowcharacteronthetoolbarinthelowerright-handcorneranddroppinghimontothedesiredlocationonthemap.Thesecondoptionistoenterthelocation’saddressinthesearchbar,pressenter(orclickthemagnifyingglass),andthen,afterthesitehasbeenlocatedonthemap,selectStreetViewfromthedropdownmenuthatisdisplayedbelowthesearchbar.

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Figure1:SampleviewofGoogleMaps-locationoffeaturesmayvarybybrowser.

Vocabulary/Definitions

VocabularyWord

Definition

ActuatedTrafficSignal

Trafficsignalsatafour-wayintersectionareallautomated,ratherthanonafixedtimer.Automationisachievedbyusingacameraorothersensoryequipmenttodeterminewhichlanesshouldreceiveagreenlight.

IntelligentTransportationSystems

Advancedtechnologiesthattransportationengineersusetoimprovetransportationsafetyandtrafficflow.Inthismodule,actuatedorsemi-actuatedtrafficsignalsrepresentoneformofintelligenttransportationsystems.

RoadSafetyAudit Anin-depthevaluationperformedbyateamofmulti-disciplinaryprofessionalsofthepotentialsafetyissuesandconcernsataparticularroadorintersection.

Semi-ActuatedTrafficSignal

Afewtrafficsignalsatafour-wayintersectionareautomated,ratherthanonafixedtimer.Thismayhappenifasmaller,rarelytraveledarterialroadintersectsabusiermajorroad.Ifthesignalissemi-automated,thesmallerroadwillhavesensoryequipmentsowhencarsarrive,theyreceiveagreenlight,butotherwisethelightstaysgreenonthemainroad.

ClickthisimagetotogglebetweenEarthviewandmapview.

Typesearchcriteriainthissearchbar.

Clickanddragthischaracterontothemap.Releasethe

mouseoverastreettoviewthestreetview.

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AssociatedActivities

Theactivitiesinthislessonplanwalkthestudentsthroughanintroductory-levelschoolzoneroadsafetyaudit.

• Activity1–CreatingaMapoftheArea

o UseGoogleMapstoviewanaerialimageoftheschool’spropertyandsurroundingroadnetwork.InstructorsmaytogglebetweentheMapviewandsatellite(Earth)viewtopointoutspecificlandmarkssostudentscangainabetterunderstandingoftheareaandroadnetworksurroundingtheschool.

o Studentswillusethisimagetosketchtheirownmapoftheschoolzoneincludingbuildingfootprintsandroadways.

o UseGoogleStreetViewtoidentifywhichsigns,pavementmarkings,andsafetydevicesontheroads.Indicatetheirpresenceonthestudents’maps.Usethedistancescaletoapproximatethedistancebetweensigns.

• Activity2-InvestigationTime!

o Interviewvariouspeopleattheschoolabouttransportationaroundtheschool.Potentialpersonnelinclude:aschoolresourceofficer,crossingguards,busdrivers,principal,teachers,parents,andpeers.Iftimeallows,considerallowingstudentstointerviewgovernmentofficialsorengineersfromthecityorcountytodetermineiftherehavebeentrafficcomplainsintheschoolzone.

o Basedoninformationgathereduptothispoint,identifyanddiscussspecificsafetyconcernsaroundtheschool.

§ Congestionatdismissal:maybecausedbybuses,parentdrivers,childrenrunningeverywhere,etc.

§ Cominglingofbusesandcars:dobuseshaveaseparateentrancefromparents?§ Visibilityofsigns:cantheybeseenaroundacurveorwhenvegetation(trees,

bushes,leaves,etc.)isovergrown?Dotheyallowenoughtimeforavehicletoseethesignsandslowdown?

§ Vehiclestravelingabovetheschoolzonespeedlimit:didanyoftheinterviewsrevealthisconcern?Considerborrowingaradardetectorfromalocallawenforcementagencyandassignsomestudentstocollectspeedreadingswithinanactiveschoolzone.

§ Accommodationsforallroadusers:youngpedestrians,bicyclists,peoplewhocannotseewell,peopleconstrainedtowheelchairs,etc.)

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• Activity3–Establishingaplantoimprovesafety!(RecommendingImprovements)

o DiscusspotentialITSsolutionsthatrelatetoschooltransportation,suchas:

§ Flashingschoolzonespeedreductionsigns(pre-timedtoactivateandflashduringschoolhoursonly)

§ Speedfeedbacksigns(Figure2),indicatingreducedschoolspeedlimitandthespeedofapproachingvehicles

§ Installationoftrafficsignal(pre-timedtoflashwhenschoolisnotinsession;onlydisplaysred/yellow/greenwhenneededfordismissalordrop-off)

§ Changeablemessagesigntodisplaymessageabout

schools(especiallyduringearlydismissaldays)

§ High-intensityActivatedcrossWalKbeacon(HAWK)isatrafficsignalusedtostoproadtrafficandallowpedestrianstocrosssafely(Figure3);formoreinfo:http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/fhwasa14014/)

o HavestudentsinvestigatethestandardinstallationrequirementsusingtheManualonUniformTrafficControlDevices(http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/part7.pdf)Theseinstallationrequirementsstandardizethetrafficcontrolforschoolareas.ThesectionoftheMUTCDthatrelatestoschoolzonetrafficcontrolhasspecificsectionsontheinstallationofsigns,markings,andcrossingsupervisiontobeusedinschoolzones.

o Studentswillusethemapfromactivity1toindicatewhereandhowtheythinksafetycouldbeimprovedintheirschoolzone.Iftimepermits,allowstudentswilldesignandconstructaphysicalmodeloftheredesignedsystem.

o Createapresentationtoinformtheschoolprincipal,schoolboardmembers,and/orlocalauthoritiesoftheirfindingsandsuggestions.

LessonClosure

• Whataresometransportationsafetyconcernsaroundschoolsthataschoolzonesafetyauditcanhelpidentifyandsolve?RoadsafetyproblemsthataSchoolZoneSafetyAuditcanattempttoidentifyandsolveincludelimitedaccesstocrosswalkswherethereareahighnumberofpedestrians,cracked/unevensidewalks,nodesignatedplacesforpeopletowalkthrough/acrossparking

Figure2:Speedfeedbacksignfora

schoolzone.

Figure3:High-intensityActivatedcrosswalk(HAWKsignal)

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lotsornearbyroads,trafficbackupandcongestionduringpeakhours,speedingvehicles,inefficientroutingoftraffic,trafficblockingbuslanesorentrances/exits,sightdistanceobstructionsrelatedtopedestrians,signs,trees,parking,etc.

• HowcanITStechnologiesandsystemsimproveschoolzonesafety?ITStechnologiesandsystemscanimproveschoolzonesafetyinavarietyofways.Installingflashingsignsthatlightupduringdrop-offandpick-uptimescanalertotherdriversthattheremaybetrafficintheschoolarea.Flashingsignscanalsobeusedtohighlightareducedspeedlimitduringschoolhours.Variablespeedlimitsignsandspeedfeedbacksignscanalsobeusedinthesameway.Changeablemessagesignscanbeusedtoalertpassingdriverstospecialeventsorschoolconditions,suchasearlydismissaloranafter-schoolevent.

• Whataresomeofthebenefitsofperformingaschoolzonesafetyaudit?Performingaschoolzonesafetyauditcanhelplowerthenumberofcrashesandhopefullystopthemoreseverecrasheswherepeoplegethurtandhavetogotothehospital.Bytakinganactiveroleinkeepingschoolzonessafe,thenumberofliabilityclaimswithinschoolzonesmaybereduced.

Extensions/Multimedia

• UtilizeEdmodo(www.edmodo.com)toprovidefurtherquestioninganddiscussionbetweenstudentsandteacher.Edmodoisasafesociallearningwebsitemadespecificallyforteachersandstudents.Itisawaytocollaborateonassignments,homework,projects,andafter-schoolSTEMprogramsandisusedasacommunicationtooltoprovideadditionalquestioningandfeedbackfromteachersandstudents.

• Inviteapoliceofficerortransportationengineertotalktoyourclassabouttheexistingorproposedtransportationsafetydevicesintheschoolzone.

References

• "RITA-IntelligentTransportationSystems-USDOT."RITA-IntelligentTransportationSystems-USDOT.USDepartmentofTransportation,n.d.Web.30Sept.2014.

• "RoadSafetyAudits(RSA)."-FHWASafetyProgram.FederalHighwayAdminstration,n.d.Web.30Sept.2014.