Children 12 and under are being invited to learn more about the safe operation of bicycles this Saturday as the Prince Rupert RCMP auxiliary host the second annual bike rodeo in the upper parking lot of the Rupert Square Mall from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
“The safety stations will include how to act around driveways and intersections (high impact areas), use of hand signals, helmet fitting, bike safety check, the speed board to see how fast you can go and obstacle course,” explained Keith Morris with the RCMP auxiliary.
“The goal is to increase bike safety. We want to teach kids to take responsibility for their own safety while on the roads, for example we instruct riders to make eye contact with drivers at intersections so that the driver is aware of the cyclist. So many accidents happen because the bike ‘came out of nowhere’. We also see many helmets that don’t fit properly, so one station will be devoted to improving the fit. The day is also about fun too and the safety board which measures bike speed and the obstacle course will be great.”
In addition to education, there will be prizes like bike helmets and water bottles for the kids, which have been donated by groups like The Prince Rupert Rotary Club, Royal Lepage, Northern Brain Injury Association, and Farwest Sport and Cycle.
“We would like to see this become an annual event, hopefully we can get out enough volunteers to make it happen every year. We’ll see what the turnout is like,” added Morris.