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| SHARING THE ROAD: SAFETY EDUCATION
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Success Stories
• Traffic safety education is integrated
throughout school curriculums in Denmark, starting in pre-school.
In the past 20
years, all types of vehicle crashes in Denmark have declined by
85 percent (3).
• In Florida, bicycle safety education is
a part of public school education, driver education and training
for police officers
and other community leaders. A statewide program, run through them
University of Florida in conjunction with Bike Florida, a nonprofit
organization, trains physical education teachers to teach safe
bicycling skills to kindergarten through eighth grade students.
Approximately
55 percent of school districts in Florida now teach bicycle safety
education. Federal Safety 402 funding started the program, which
is now funded as part of Florida DOT’s regular training budget
(4).
• The
League of American Bicyclists (LAB), a non-profit training and advocacy
organization, has trained more than 800 individuals
to teach bicycle safety in their communities. LAB organizes a National
Bike to Work Day, Week, and Month. LAB also has a program that encourages
communities to earn a “Bicycle-Friendly” designation
(5).
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In
certain European countries and in selected places in the United States
where a commitment States where a commitment has been made to safety education,
walking and bicycling rates are high and crash rates are low. In European
countries, pedestrian and bicycle safety is taught and tested extensively
in schools and is an integral part of driver education (1). Low fatality
rates in Germany and the Netherlands reflect this. 
Safety
education about biking and walking typically is a low priority in the
United States. In Minnesota, a law requires public schools to teach bicycle
safety if they teach bus safety skills, but few schools appear to do
so. Since few children are walking and biking regularly, they aren’t
learning safety through practical experience, either.
From
1975 to 1998, the University of Minnesota Extension Service taught
bicycle safety to children ages 11-17, trained police officers on bicycles
and promoted the state’s voluntary bicycle registration program
through a Community Bicycle Safety Project. The Extension Service also
produced the Twin Cities Bicycle Commuter Map, which has won national
awards. The program ended when its $80,000 annual state funding was eliminated
(2).
Recommendations
Greatly increase education about pedestrian and bicycle safety.
- The
legislature should provide funding for a statewide education program
on bicycle and pedestrian safety.
- The
state should require that driver education classes and road tests
include a stronger focus
on pedestrian and bicycle safety.
- All
schools should teach bicycle and pedestrian safety, and should be
adequately funded and trained
to do so. This may require
partnerships with public agencies and private organizations.
The League of American Bicyclists has trained more than 800 individuals
to teach bicycle safety in their communities.
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Footnotes
1 John Pucher and Lewis Djikstra, “Making Walking and Cycling Safer:
Lessons from Europe,” Transportation Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 3 (summer
2000), 13-17.
2 Gary Sjoquist, Bikes Belong, phone interview by Sacha Peterson, 4 December
2002.
3 U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Safe
Routes to Schools,” DOT HS 809-497: Sept. 2002, 73.
4 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Good
Practices Guide for Bicycle Safety Education, (Washington, D.C., USDOT,
FHWA: 2001), FHWA-SA-02-001, HAS-4/30-02 (5HM)QE, 38-40.
5 The Bicycle-Friendly Community Campaign funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, accessed 6 March 2003 from http://www.bikeleague.org. |
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