Empowering Youth for Safer Roads: The Evolution of the Youth Engagement App

Image Caption: Students reported areas where they feel unsafe on YEA and confidently presented this information to the stakeholders including FIA Foundation’s Executive Director Saul Billingsley
Image Credit: AIP Foundation

Road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29. To address this pressing issue, a pioneering app is putting the power of change directly in the hands of youth. The Youth Engagement App (YEA) developed as part of the AI&Me: Empowering Youth for Safer Roads Project funded by Fondation Botnar and co-funded by FIA Foundation, is more than just an app. It is an interactive platform that enables young individuals to identify and report road safety conditions in the vicinity of their schools with ease.

Harnessing Youth Power: How YEA Empowers Actions for Safer Roads?

Empowering Young People to Become Advocates for Changes: YEA allows young people to easily report road safety concerns, fostering open communication with decision-makers. This empowers them to advocate for improvements in their communities.
Identifying Safety Hotspots and Supporting SR4S Assessments: Through the analysis of clusters of YEA pins, authorities can efficiently pinpoint areas with a high incidence of safety concerns. The data collected through YEA can also complement comprehensive infrastructure assessments conducted through the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S). By combining YEA and SR4S results, authorities can prioritize resources and interventions where they are needed most, ultimately leading to safer roads for young people and the community.

Unlocking YEA’s Potential: Upgrades Deliver Improved Functionality and User Experience

YEA has recently undergone a series of upgrades aimed at improving its functionality and enhancing the user experience. Here are the details of the new upgrades:

Offline Mode: YEA now includes an offline mode, enabling users to operate without an internet connection. Data entered into the app is stored locally on the device and automatically synchronized with the server once an internet connection is established. This enhancement ensures uninterrupted usage of the app, even in areas with limited or no network coverage, facilitating seamless engagement in road safety activities by users.
Highlight All Schools on Map: The map style has been updated to eliminate any lightness in school icons and text, ensuring that all schools are prominently highlighted on the map.
Highlight Student’s Schools: Students can now easily identify their school on the map as it is marked with a unique icon based on the provided coordinates.
Set Map to Current Location: The ‘My Pins’ page now automatically sets the map to the user’s current location.
Additional Alert Messages: Various alert messages have been reviewed and included for scenarios such as missing required names, successful registration, and pending approval.
Loading Symbol: A loading symbol has been added to indicate when the app is processing in the backend.
Additional Map Layers: Users can now access additional map layers such as traffic and 3D view, alongside the satellite view, providing more comprehensive navigation options.

(a) Loading symbol

(b) Additional map layers

(b) School highlight on the map

These upgrades aim to improve the functionality, accessibility, and user experience of the YEA, making it a more effective tool for engaging youth in road safety initiatives. These improvements were made possible by the support of Google.org.

Reaching a Global Audience

YEA is now available in six languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Bahasa Indonesia, and Vietnamese thanks to the generous support of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Fondation Botnar, and FIA Foundation. This expanded reach in multiple languages facilitates greater youth participation in road safety programmes worldwide.