Allameh Tabataba’i University Strategic Recommendations for  Administrative Bodies

Allameh Tabataba’i University Strategic Recommendations for Administrative Bodies

Issues in Traffic Behavior Education in Iran: Challenges and Solutions

Author
Department of Educational Psychology, Allameh Tabataba'i University
Abstract
Road accidents in Iran, with high annual fatalities and heavy economic and social costs, are considered one of the persistent crises in the domain of public governance and social health, and the share of human factors in the occurrence of violations and accidents highlights the necessity of focusing on traffic behavior education. Situation analysis indicates that despite a slight decrease in fatality statistics in some years, the rate of accident-causing violations remains high, and the 20 to 40 age group accounts for the largest share of fatal and injury accidents; an issue that points to the decisive role of targeted education and cultural development among active groups of society. The core issue is the lack of a cohesive system for traffic behavior education from the family level to public and higher education, as well as the absence of a single custodian for policymaking, execution, and evaluation of these trainings; consequently, the main burden of promoting traffic culture has been transferred to the traffic police, while the role of universities and educational institutions in designing and evaluating programs has remained subdued. Proposed strategies emphasize adopting a trans-individual and health-oriented approach, conducting educational needs assessments for parents, schools, and universities, utilizing psychological and interdisciplinary models, developing multimedia education, establishing inter-organizational coordination, and launching a traffic behavior and culture research center to produce indigenous knowledge and guide theses. Furthermore, designing training packages based on seven axes (education, environment, engineering, rescue, law enforcement, incentives, and evaluation) and multi-level planning from the macro to the individual level are introduced as pathways for the sustainable reduction of fatalities and the promotion of rule-abidance.
Keywords