Safety on the road (conditionals)

Richard | Jul 13, 2026Jul 10, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this ESL lesson on conditionals are to:

• talk about traffic regulations and road safety;
• analyse and practise the four conditionals;
• watch part of a video about seat belt legislation.

In this lesson, students discuss participants involved in road safety, debate legal regulations and watch a video excerpt (to 02:18) on the 1983 UK front seat belt law. They analyse the form and function of the four conditionals, use them to share their ideas and propose a new road safety law. Students also talk about international differences in traffic laws and evaluate local driving offences.

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This ESL lesson on conditionals starts with a warm-up. Students examine words (pedestrians, drivers and governments) and think of responsibilities they have to ensure safety on the road. Afterwards, they look at different driving situations (e.g. driving while tired) and discuss questions about laws, penalties and personal choice. Moving on, students watch part of a video about the introduction of the law in 1983 that made front seat belts compulsory in the UK. First, they read statements and choose the opinions they think people had about the law at the time. Then, students watch the video and check their answers. Following that, they discuss public attitudes toward seat belts and other road safety laws. 

CONDITIONALS AND DISCUSSION

In this part of the ESL lesson on conditionals, students read comments about wearing seat belts. They then use them to answer questions about the meanings and structures of the four conditionals. After that, students complete sentences about road safety by choosing the correct conditional structures. Moving on, they finish sentences with their own ideas using the correct form of the conditional. Following that, students create a new road safety law and justify it using all four conditionals. Next, they discuss questions about the effectiveness, creation and international differences of traffic laws. Finally, students examine driving offences (e.g. splashing pedestrians) in different countries. They use them to evaluate local driving laws, discuss their safety impact and share personal experiences.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This ESL lesson on conditionals also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students complete sentences with their own ideas using the correct conditional forms. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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