R3. Spontaneous Awareness of Danger and Risk in Everyday Life

R3.1 When asked to name things which incorporated an element of danger or risk, the students initially named activities or phenomena where the association with the potential for injury and/or death was most salient in their minds at the time.

R3.2 This saliency has been caused by the interaction of a multiplicity of factors but especially:

issues focused on by parents, teachers and other authority figures;
issues covered extensively in the news media, both at a national and local level;
personal experience and the experiences of friends and relatives close to them;
issues covered in TV and film dramas;
issues covered in TV documentaries;
issues pertaining to personal interests and activities.

(Each of these factors are discussed more fully in Section R4).

R3.3 Thus the most frequently cited things associated with danger were:

taking drugs;
smoking;
AIDS;
joy riding (older boys, depressed area);
handling fire;
playing near railway lines;
playing near busy roads;
playing some sports (horse riding, swimming, rugby, hockey, climbing, surfing, etc);
'bad men'/'psychos'/'murderers' (younger children esp.);
strangers (in urban/city environment);
walking home alone in the dark (esp. older girls)
air travel.

R3.4 Further consideration resulted in a much more extensive list of areas of risk, usually generated primarily by the more intelligent respondents in the group:

crossing the road;
travelling in cars;
cycling;
handling electric appliances;
cooking;
eating (food poisoning);
running around in the playground;
going up and down stairs.

Generally resulting in a consensus view that, if you think about it, there is very little, if anything, which is completely safe.

R3.5 Whilst most of the student groups were able to think the issues through for themselves and reach the opinion that most activities carry an element of risk, be it often very small, this was not always the case. The younger, less able children - most notably the 9-10 year old boys living in a deprived area of Bristol had difficulty thinking beyond the obvious dangers that they are constantly warned about.

R3.6 After consideration most respondents, especially the older and more able, acknowledged that their awareness of risk and concern about risk is often based on personal perception rather than fact.

"Things that feel the riskiest probably aren't, like abseiling. It's probably more dangerous to drive around the M25."
(M, 17-18)

Additionally, that familiarity can breed complacency.

"You start off being a bit scared of doing something and take care, but the more you do it the more confident you get and the safer you feel. You don't think about it anymore. It doesn't seem so dangerous."
(F, 16-17)

R3.7 Thus home was usually spontaneously perceived as the safest environment because it is known and you are surrounded by people who you know care for you and will protect you. Only after rational consideration are the dangers in the home - most notably electricity, knives and cookers - acknowledged.

"Home is safe. Your parents are there. You know where you are... but there can be fires and the kitchen is quite dangerous with cookers, knives and so on."
(M, 11-12)

"At home there's always a chance something will happen. Electrical things or smoking in bed. But you don't think about them as it's all so normal."
(M, 15-16)

Equally crossing familiar roads and going on short car journeys, although known to be potentially dangerous rarely cause any concern because the task is done so frequently and without mishap that it is rarely thought about. A "won't happen to me" attitude is unconsciously adopted. It takes some kind of incident to shake off this complacency.

"When you are young crossing the road seems dangerous. People are constantly warning you. But as you get older it seems more everyday and you don't think about it. You sometimes get a jolt, like when a car beeps you or you suddenly see something coming and have to step back onto the kerb quickly."
(F, 12-13)

R3.8 The flipside of this attitude is reflected in many students' concern about flying. Whilst they may rationally know that it is the safest form of transport, the combination of factors associated with it:

an infrequent experience;
crashes given a lot of publicity;
complete impotence and little chance of survival if something major goes wrong;
little understanding of how a plane manages to stay up in the air mean that it is common to feel somewhat apprehensive when boarding a plane.

"Apparently you're safe in a plane. But I feel safer in a car. I suppose because it's more everyday. I do get a bit worried about flying, although I know it's stupid to."
(M, 13-14)

R3.9 For the younger children, in particular, imagination also played an important role in heightening and extending fears. Items in the news or a storyline in a thriller had been picked up on and because the subject of imaginative fantasy giving rise to quite irrational fears.

This was particularly the case in relation to the threat posed by 'murderers' and 'bad men' with some individuals being seriously worried about being murdered in their beds or shot at whilst in the playground. It was clear that the Dunblane killings in particular had heightened young childrens' perceptions of the threat to their safety posed by 'bad men'. In this incidence, the fact the killings had taken place in a supposedly safe environment - a school - was particularly unsettling.

"Someone could grab you in the night. A murderer could get me..."
(M, 9-10)

"There is an alleyway next to the playground. The fence has holes in it. Someone could shoot you..."
(F, 10-11)

R3.10 The teachers and the older and more able respondents understood that danger and risk can be managed. That by looking for all the areas of potential trouble and by taking steps to minimise the risk for each one and by remaining alert, the overall level of risk can be drastically reduced.

"Some things are going to happen anyway. But you can do a lot to make things safer for yourself."
(F, 16-17)

Indeed this can be done to such an extent that an activity normally regarded as dangerous, can actually be safer than an activity which is treated with complacency although carrying a much smaller risk in itself.

Being aware and in control was thought by these respondents to be key to safety. Those situations where one is not in control are those which are most dangerous.

"Being safe is all about not having surprises... You should know the risks and whether or not you can do anything about them before you decide to do something."
(M, 17-18)

"The danger lies in the unknown. You have to look at potential problems and try to eliminate them as far as possible... The risk is greatest with things you don't have control over.
(Primary Teacher)

R3.11 Although not necessarily able to articulate this argument, most of the students in the sample recognised that by taking precautions the risk involved in many activities can be significantly reduced.

R3.12 However, it is important to note that whilst able to discuss risk management in a theoretical context, young children and the less able in particular often have difficulty applying this knowledge in real life. This point was made by the teachers and was clearly observable in some of the groups. This point is returned to in Sections R5.3 and R6.2.

"Most primary school children don't see potential danger. They don't think of consequences at all. They can discuss it but they can't apply it."
(Primary Teacher)

"The children know the theory but they can forget. When they think they are safe they are most likely not to put the knowledge into action."
(Primary Teacher)