Cycling is a fun and healthy activity and a first chance of independence. But many a parent has had their heart in their mouth as they watched their child head off onto the road on a bicycle.
It's not an unreasonable feeling – the road is a busy and potentially dangerous place. But as long as children are well-trained and have a sound knowledge of road rules, cycling can be safe for them as well as fun.
Because cyclists aren't required to hold a licence to use the road, however, it's up to parents to make sure their child has developed sufficient cycling skills and knowledge of the road rules before he or she first ventures onto the road.
Road Safety Coordinators Krista Hobday and Margaret Parfitt have some suggestions for parents to help them achieve fun and safe cycling for their children:
Get them a copy of the Safe Cycling booklet… available in school libraries and book shops. Make sure the child reads it – if possible before they start learning to ride (it's easier to learn the right skills from scratch that it is to undo bad habits.)
Revise with the child all the important guidelines given
Test your child's cycling skills and knowledge of road rules before he or she rides on the road
Draw a map for your child showing the safest cycling routes in your neighbourhood
Ride with them the first few times they ride on the road if older.
Your support, encouragement and guidance is the key to helping your children become safe road users, so please give them the time they need. And don't forget to set a good example when you're driving or cycling on the road – children learn by imitation!
Finally, Land Transport New Zealand and the NZ Police recommend that children should be at least 10 years old before they ride on the road without adult supervision. Children younger than this simply don't have the mental or physical maturity to be safe road users by themselves.
Click here to go to the Police Education Officers page.
If your children want to cycle to school, but ou would prefer them to cycle with others, look at joining a cycle train. These are similar to walking school buses.
Click here to go to the cycle train page.
Adult cycle skills and maintenance courses
These courses are run throught the year in the Nelson and Tasman region. For more details contact Krista Hobday, Ph 543 8551, email krista.hobday@tdc.govt.nz
or Margaret parfitt, Ph 546 0390, email margaret.parfitt@ncc.govt.nz.
Cyclist Road Code
The cyclist road code is now available in HTML form. Please click on
the link below and it will take you direct to the site. Please forward
to others in your community that may be interested in this web site.
www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/roadcode/cyclist-code/
Cycling is a fun and healthy activity and a first chance of independence. But many a parent has had their heart in their mouth as they watched their child head off onto the road on a bicycle.