by Cpl. Tom Sipin, PCI #254
LCI; Teaching Safe Bicycling Instructor-Trainer (WI D.O.T.)
West Allis Police Department, Wisconsin
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When asked to conduct some sort of
bicycle safety education for children, the first thing that comes to the
minds of most bike cops and EMS cyclists is the bike rodeo. Spring is the
perfect time for bike rodeos - temperatures are getting warmer, kids and
teachers both have spring fever, and the long, lazy days of summer are just
around the corner. Many children will spend those precious vacation days
roaming their neighborhoods on bikes. As public safety professionals - and
cyclists - it is our responsibility to help keep them safe while still having
fun. The purpose of this article is to provide information that will help
you if you get called upon to organize a bike rodeo to educate the kids in
your community.
GETTING STARTED
The first and most important thing to remember is that the easiest way to
influence people, especially kids, is to "practice what we preach." If you
do something dumb like ride without a helmet, ride on the wrong side of the
road, or blow a stop sign when you don't have to, you can bet some kids will
be watching. They'll remember just how seriously you take the subject of
bike safety and most - if not all - of your credibility will go down the
tubes.
The second most important thing to realize is that you should take advantage
of existing programs, borrow everything applicable to your target audience,
and give credit where credit is due. Check with the League of American
Bicyclists' for Instructors that have Kids' Enhancement training. Contact
your state Department of Transportation and request any materials they offer.
A search of the Internet will yield numerous resources related to Bike Rodeos,
Bike Safety, Bike Education, Helmets, Kid's Safety, Injury Prevention for
Children, etc. Most of these agencies, companies, and individuals are more
than happy to see their programs put to use. I just sent for classroom and
outdoor rodeo packets from Modern Woodmen of America. Safety books, outlines,
diagrams, certificates, written and skills tests, decals and reflectors for
950 kids… for free!
Last year I used a packet from the Bike Helmet Safety Institute, called the
Take Home Ride Safe Bike Rodeo. It contains five short lessons for kids to
do with their parents. I used them to "prep" all of our fourth graders for
our "We get to ride our bikes during school?" rodeos.
As you customize your program, keep in mind this very important statement:
Kids are not small adults. They differ from adults in many ways.
- They have physical limitations: they can't see over or around things as
easily.
- They have 1/3 less peripheral vision.
- They have a poorly developed "sense of danger."
- They can't tell from which direction sound is coming.
- They have trouble judging speed and distance, so they can't tell how quickly
a car is approaching.
- They have a more limited attention span.
- They can't "multi-task" as well, meaning they may be able to balance, or
watch where they are going, or ride in a straight line, or signal a turn,
or talk to a friend, but they can't do more than two or so at the same time.
WHAT'S THE PURPOSE?
The main purpose of bike safety education for kids is to minimize crashes
and injuries. In order to do that, you have to know what the most common
causes of crashes involving children, and you need to learn which teaching
methods are the most successful. The most frequent mistakes kids make are:
- "Mid-block ride-outs" - failing to stop and look for traffic while entering
the street from driveways;
- Failing to stop for stop signs and traffic signals;
- Making unexpected turns and swerving;
- Riding on the wrong side of the road.
Once you know the common mistakes, it is essential to learn what to teach
and when. Like those of many departments, our rodeos used to consist of a
small chalked course with a stop sign, a one-way street, and a left turn
arrow. Officer Friendly would walk a child through in about three minutes,
having the child (often on a "big wheel") do hand signals (kind of), stop
at the stop sign, etc. At the end of the course, the child would get a water
bottle or a Frisbee. It was a positive contact between the kids and the officer,
but it did not accomplish much in the way of education.
The best way to teach younger kids is through training the parents to teach
basic balance and coordination, and by making sure everyone wears helmets.
Younger children should ride with their parents, who should continually coach
them. This is important because the kids will not remember what they are
supposed to do, and they should not attempt to do things like signal or pretend
they are riding in the road.
One of the hardest parts is to get the parents to understand that if the
child cannot stand over a bike, it is too big and cannot be ridden safely.
We all loved to ride our older brother or sister's bike, but the safest way
to stop is not to jump off the bike. The other challenge is convincing a
parent of the importance of proper equipment, properly maintained. It is
amazing what some kids are riding! If a car can't turn or stop without proper
air pressure in the tires, how can a bike? How can a child steer around a
pothole if the handlebars aren't tight enough to turn the wheel? Several
times I've had two brothers on bikes - one bike with brakes on the front
and one bike with brakes on the back. A bike without brakes? How about a
bike with no seat, or with a piece of vinyl or cloth over the seat post?
Or the kids who ride with dad's motorcycle helmet on, head bobbing away?
Would their parents be as negligent with their cars? Some would, but thankfully
most aren't. They realize that a car without brakes could kill someone, but
they don't see the irony in allowing their kids to ride around cars, buses,
and other traffic on bikes with bad brakes, flat tires and spinning handlebars.
THE BICYCLE RODEO
At around age ten, most kids have developed the mental and physical capacity
to learn the skills necessary for riding in traffic, so our training focuses
on those specific skills. Rather than telling parents that their kids will
be safe riding in the road after they have completed the course, we stress
that the kids will learn the necessary skills, and that when they use those
skills all of the time, they will be safer on the road.
We teach the children to:
- Ride in a straight line using 3-foot lanes.
- Check back over the shoulder for traffic, while riding in the 3-foot lane.
- Avoid small objects without swerving out into traffic, the "rock dodge."
- Stop or turn quickly if necessary to avoid traffic, the "max brake."
- Look "left - right - left" for traffic before entering the road.
- Position themselves on the road.
We also stress the following rules of safe cycling:
- Be Visible.
- Be Predictable.
- Follow the Rules of the Road.
- Communicate with Other Drivers.
- Don't Ride after Dark.
That's a lot to teach, too much for any one person. Get help - teachers,
parents, other bike cops, bike shop volunteers, Police Reserves, Police
Explorers. Set up check-in stations. While someone checks tires, brakes,
and handlebars, someone else fits helmets. Go to your local community for
support. Our hospital donates surgical caps to be worn under the "loaner"
helmets, which were donated by our "Safe Kids" organization. Visit your property
room. We use 20-30 "recovered" bikes from our property room that were
"safety-checked" by our local bike shop, which is owned by League of American
Bicyclists' president Chris Kegel.
READY TO RIDE
After everyone is registered, safety-checked, and fitted with a helmet, we
are ready to ride. We take groups through each station, starting with three
sets of 3-foot lanes. (Use spray marking chalk with an extended "paintstick"
handle; it fades more quickly. I used to use engineering marking paint guaranteed
to fade away in 4-6 weeks, or months, or 2 years!) Each child goes through
each station 3-4 times, until he or she is comfortable with the skill being
practiced.
First, they practice riding straight in the lanes, riding with one hand on
the bars, then doing shoulder checks while staying in the lanes. In the second
set of lanes, they practice max braking and "slow racing," keeping their
hands on the bars, their feet on the pedals, and staying in their lanes -
while they balance and ride as slowly as they can. In the third set of lanes,
we set up a rock dodge using tennis balls or sponges (wet, so they don't
blow around.)
The next set of skill practice involves turning and bike handling. For these
exercises, we make several sets of two or three circles. (Using the paintstick
and chalk, and something heavy with a string tied to it, I make a 10' inner
circle and a 12' outer circle. The outer circles should touch, forming a
"figure eight-and-a-half.") The kids practice riding while keeping the front
tires between the two circles. Then one of the instructors leads 4-5 kids
through the "8." When the riders intersect each other, the first person arriving
goes first, but must communicate to the other rider, e.g., "you go first"
or "I'm going first." When this exercise is done correctly, all riders should
be able to "time," communicate, and balance so that no-one touches a foot
to the ground.
For tighter turns and balance, we form an "M" with a 3' riding lane and a
4' space between the lanes, similar to the lock-to-lock drill. Then the kids
go through a serpentine made of three rows of seven cones, spaced about 8'
apart. Arrows are chalked around the cones to keep the kids going in the
correct direction.
We usually set up a "lock-to-lock" and a partial "off-set serpentine" using
14 cones for the more capable kids. Then we'll lead a group through the whole
course.
A side street is blocked off for the final portion of the rodeo. We set up
stop signs and have the kids practice looking L-R-L from the stop, or, if
the street is busy, moving onto the sidewalk and crossing like a pedestrian.
They'll practice passing several parked cars, doing a shoulder check to move
out into the lane, and riding straight - a door's length away - without swerving
to the curb between the parked cars.
If time permits, a video station may be added. "Safe Kids" has an excellent
one called Someone Else, which makes parents very uncomfortable but is just
about right to convince 10-year-olds to wear helmets. A Kid's Eye View from
the Wisconsin D.O.T. is used nationally for educating parents, and is an
excellent addition to the rodeo if you are able to run a video station for
parents while their kids go through the course.
At the end of the rodeo, the kids enjoy lemonade or orange drink and "snack-paks"
from McDonalds, and are awarded certificates of completion. For the last
several years, we also gave out either headlights or taillights.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
Last year, I presented the type of rodeo described above to 4th graders at
20 primary schools - two hours each, twice a day, for 10 school days. That's
950 kids. In addition, I conducted another 16 or so rodeos for area recreation
departments and other organizations. Although the basic formula is the same,
each rodeo is somewhat unique. There are plenty of resources out there, but
in selecting the ones you will use, it is essential to remember your target
audience. Even after having conducted so many rodeos, I am always looking
to "borrow" ideas to make them more fun and challenging, both for the kids
and for the adults.
Remember to plan ahead and leave nothing to chance. The more volunteers you
recruit and helpers you prepare, the more you can do. Prepare brief written
instructions for your helpers on how to fit helmets and what to do at each
of the stations. Training several people who are able to participate in each
event will help tremendously. Make sure you have at least two electric pumps.
One other bit of advice. If you're starting a new program, check with your
local hospital and start keeping statistics on emergency room visits for
kids injured in bike crashes. You'll need to document the statistics for
several years, but hopefully in time you will obtain the hard numbers you
need to justify your program and the time invested.
For more information and advice on running a bike rodeo, contact Cpl. Tom
Sipin of the West Allis P.D. at tsipin@ci.west-allis.wi.us.
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of IPMBA
News. |
