Published: June 05, 2008 02:29 pm            

Pedal Power!

ASHEBORO — Asheboro school students are learning to be safer on their bicycles thanks to a new program.

Nurses in the Asheboro City Schools, led by Gayla Boyle, had requested a bicycle safety education course. Several agencies stepped in to provide just what was needed, partnering to bring the course to all the fourth-graders in the school system.

Coordinated by the Randolph County 4-H, the program was assisted by health educators from the Randolph County Health Department, the Asheboro Police Department and the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments.

The City Schools provided 20 bicycles and a number of helmets.

The program begins in the classroom with instruction in road sign identification, hand signals, proper fitting of helmets and knowledge of various parts of the bicycle.

Outside, students must demonstrate their familiarity with the bicycle by pointing out parts when asked and going through a checklist prior to riding.

There are four stations on the course: riding in straight lines, maneuvering through cones on the course, doing figure eights and using hand signals while making stops and turns.

Hannah Cockburn of the Council of Governments was at the Guy B. Teachey School session last Thursday.

She said her agency is sponsoring bicycle safety with what’s called the Ped Power program.

“We work with kids in a structured way,” she said, noting that fourth-graders are beginning to become more independent and more aware of the rules of the road.

She said studies show that “better bike riders grow up to be better car drivers.”

Also at Teachey School were Barb Dunn Swanson and Jody Terry of 4-H, Wendy Kennon and Shea Cox of the Health Department, and Kevin Ingold of the Asheboro Police Department.

Swanson said the program not only teaches children biking skills, but also encourages them to get outside and exercise. That can help them avoid the problem of obesity, she said.

Paula LaPlant, fourth-grade teacher, said she was “so pleased because (her students) learned things they didn’t already know,” such as hand signals and proper fitting of helmets. “And to be able to practice with people watching” was good for the young riders, she said.

Cockburn said the Council of Governments is hoping to spread the bicycle safety program, as well as other child safety activities, to more school systems in the Piedmont Triad.

        

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