Empowering adolescents in road safety: investigation of gamified e-learning platforms for adolescents among developed and developing countries

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation addresses the critical global issue of adolescent road safety through the lens of education, with a specific focus on the efficacy of gamified e-learning platforms. Recognizing road traffic accidents as a leading cause of death among adolescents, the study underscores the urgent need for innovative educational strategies to mitigate risk and promote safer behaviors. The research adopts a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, exploring the differential impact of gamified road safety education in developed (Belgium) and developing (Pakistan) contexts. The study begins with a comprehensive systematic review of 46 international studies from 2004 to 2024, providing an in-depth examination of various Road Safety Education (RSE) methodologies including traditional classroom-based learning, community-based initiatives, virtual reality (VR), and gamified digital platforms. The review reveals that while gamification and immersive technologies significantly enhance engagement and short-term learning outcomes, long-term behavioral change remains inconsistent, particularly in resource-constrained environments. At the heart of the empirical investigation lies the Route 2 School (R2S) platform, a gamified, online road safety education tool designed to improve adolescent traffic knowledge, risk perception, and decision-making. The platform was deployed and tested among adolescents in Belgium and Pakistan, allowing for a nuanced cross-country comparison. The dissertation evaluates four core competencies: traffic knowledge, situation awareness, risk detection, and risk management among participating students. The comparative chapter explores R2S implementation across multiple nations, revealing cultural, technological, and infrastructural barriers to scalability. Although Belgium's students performed better overall, the platform showed promising adaptability and effectiveness across contexts, especially when localized content and stakeholder engagement were prioritized In Pakistan, the platform targeted adolescent motorcyclists, a high-risk group due to increasing motorcycle usage and inadequate safety education. Through pre- and post-intervention assessments with experimental and control groups, the study found statistically significant improvements in knowledge acquisition, risk detection, and risk management. However, gains in situation awareness were less pronounced, suggesting the need for enhanced pedagogical design and interactive content. The Belgium study focused on secondary school students who participated in the R2S program as part of their formal school curriculum on traffic safety. The findings confirmed the platform’s effectiveness in promoting safer attitudes and behaviors, with performance disparities noted across urban and rural schools, and subtle gender-based differences. Students in urban settings and older age groups generally scored higher, while female students showed stronger results in risk management. Crucially, the research incorporates stakeholder perspectives through mixedmethod data collection involving teachers and parents in Pakistan. This component reveals widespread dissatisfaction with current RSE implementation, citing barriers such as lack of institutional support, cultural inertia, and teacher training deficits. Nevertheless, stakeholders expressed strong interest in adopting structured, interactive safety programs, pointing to the latent potential for societal transformation through education. The dissertation concludes by synthesizing insights from all studies, advocating for policy integration, teacher training, and technological investment to support scalable, gamified traffic safety education. It offers actionable recommendations for both developed and developing countries, emphasizing the need for contextual sensitivity, longitudinal evaluation, and multi-sector collaboration. In essence, this research contributes substantially to academic discourse and policy development in transportation sciences by demonstrating that gamified digital education platforms can be powerful tools for enhancing adolescent road safety, provided that they are thoughtfully designed, culturally tailored, and supported by systemic infrastructure.