How You Move: The Civic Potential of “Mobility Education”
by KatieAngelina Lopez, TLC’s Media Relations & Communications intern offers the following thoughts on “mobility education.”
A new foundation based in Seattle has a brilliant idea: replace the narrowly-focused traditional driver’s ed with mobility ed. Mobility education, “addresses issues of safety, environment, health and economics by redefining our expectations about transportation and its consequences,” according to the Mobility Education Foundation. By teaching youth how to use public transit, to effectively cycle, to be a responsible pedestrian, as well as how to drive, we can empower students to understand how their lifestyle choices influence the wellbeing of themselves, others, and global ecosystems.
When I was 15, I took driver’s ed. What I remember most is the “Red Asphalt” films which showed the gory remains of car accident victims. It used fear to try to instill a sense of the responsibility of driving 3-ton hunks of metal at high speeds. In high school, I drove the 1½ miles to the school’s massive, overflowing parking lot. This distance would have equated to a 25 minute walk or a leisurely 10 minute bike ride. I did not know bicycle etiquette, did not use public transportation, and was mostly sedentary. Though I did not like to drive, emit, or spend money on gas, but I didn’t see that I had a real option.
This is where mobility education comes in. It offers youth choices. The foundation phrases it well:
While millions of dollars are spent every year trying, unsuccessfully, to change adult transportation habits, mobility education tackles those habits before they’ve fully formed, focusing on teen driver’s education courses as a point of intervention.
Mobility education empowers teens to make safe choices in a world where motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among people ages 4–33 …[it] instills healthy habits that make it possible for teens to protect the wellbeing of their bodies and the planet… (From Mobility Education: A four-point approach).
Instead of frightening youth into obeying traffic laws (the effectiveness of which is questionable anyway), we can showcase the benefits of multimodal personal transportation. I use a bicycle to get most places. I am healthier than I ever was, save money, and know my community more intimately. Encouraging our youth to be aware of their transportation options and their interconnectedness equips them with tools to navigate the challenges of a globalized, climate-changing 21st century.
