Waiouru folk ride safely

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 432, 14 April 1992, Page 5

Waiouru folk ride safely

BYJO HOWIE Wanganui Traffic Education Officer Peter Thomas ran a two day cycling course for interested Waiouru community members last week. Twelve people attended the course which included school teachers, an army physical training instructor, a school board of trustees member and two members of the Royal Corps of Transport. "I try to involve as many people as possible and my aim is to train as many teachers and community members so they can run programmes in their own communities. Graduates from this course will be equipped to initiate the Safe Cycling programme in Waiouru," said Mr Thomas. He said he teaches road safety to all age groups, from playcentre and kindergarten through to polytechnic students. At the pre-school level he said he teaches 'small steps to safety', a programme teaching parents about constraints pre-schoolers have in a traffic situation. For the Jl-Stdl level he teaches 'safe walking', a pedestrian training programme and 'safe passenger', a bus and car travel programme. For the 9-14 year olds, a cycling programme is taught. Peter said most cycling accidents occur in this age group. "It's their inattention and inability to cope with complex traffic situations. I recommend that under nine year olds do not ride unsupervised on any road," he said.

The two -day course concentrated on practical experience. The group rode 10-12 km around Waiouru Camp and mastered topics on road rules, cycling skills, cycle equipment, cycle maintenance and defensive cycling. They started with cycle drills off the road and graduated on to the road. On the last day the group assessed each other's ability using a criteria laid down by the Ministry of Transport.