Scared Straight for bicycles
In Japan nearly everyone during their life commutes by bicycle, but this means they must compete with more and more cars and trucks on some very old, crowded roads. The folks in Japan “Sumo wrestled” with trying to make an impression on these young minds to consider safety along with all their exciting youthful coming and going. Getting youngsters, especially middle school age, to pay attention to anything and remember anything has always been a challenge. Their answer from American TV. These types of demonstrations take place all over Japan and are known as “Scared Straight” in that it’s intended to frighten children into observing traffic safety. The name comes from the 1978 Oscar-winning documentary in which a group of juvenile delinquents are berated and threatened by “lifers” at Rahway State Prison to stop them from making the same bad life choices the prisoners did. The success of the film spawned a series of similar Scared Straight programs in prisons across the U.S. Nevertheless, their core concept of using fear as a teaching tool eventually made its way to Japan, but with some significant changes.
Now kids are riding bikes while gazing at their smartphones became a big problem, Scared Straight shows are really started to take off. The junior high’s started having assemblies playing the “Biker Scared Straight” movies in assemblies. The purpose was to watch several demonstrations of cars and trucks colliding with stunt performers riding bicycles to illustrate the dangers of traffic accidents. Scenarios include a bike colliding with an open car door and getting pulled under a truck that turned left while the bike was in its blind spot. In most cases, the stunt performer dramatically rolls along the ground or across the hood of a car badly dented from repeated impacts. At first glance, it might seem that watching a professional bounce off the hood of a car is more impressive than scary, but that may also have the benefit of getting kids’ undivided attention compared to conventional traffic safety programs. According to student comments these demonstrations do seem to make an impact. “When they did it at my school, the stuntman died.” “I saw one the other day and it really made me scared of the reality of accidents.” The Journal of Japan Society of Engineers published a case study comparing “Scared Straight” and conventional traffic safety programs, they found students who watched a Scared Straight demonstration specifically held onto a sense of dangerous situations better after one month than other kids.
Fun with Safety training
In China we guarantee our citizens the freedom of speech.
But we do not guarantee their personal safety after their speech.
Safety sign at Google:
“In case of fire: Exit building before posting the video.”
What’s the best car safety device?
A rearview mirror with a police car in it.
I’m desperately trying to figure out why, Kamikaze pilots wore helmets.
February 23rd Birthdays
1974 – Emily Blunt, 1971 – Nicey Nash, 1994 – Dakota Fanning, 1971 – Neicy Nash
1868 – W.E. B. Dubois, 1963 – Bobby Bonilla, 1984 – Aziz Ansari, 1982 – Josh Gad