Tag Archives: education

Road safety program targets children

A new road safety program called RoadSet is targeting school children from Year Nine with plans to ramp up motorcycle awareness.

The free online interactive teaching program, launched by the Australian Road Safety Foundation, is designed to help young people become better road users.

RoadSet program

RoadSet combines original animation with “gamified” interactions to deliver engaging content in 10 modules that are age-appropriate.

ARSF founder and CEO Russell White says the Progressive Web App is a first step in teaching the next generation of road users.

Russell White - lane filtering - fatality free friday fatality free friday
Russell White

“We need to remember that safety isn’t just about drivers, but about all road users, and that includes children on bikes, skateboards, scooters or simply walking on foot,” he says.

“Our aim for RoadSet is to re-boot things in the road safety educational space and get younger road users thinking about these issues earlier.

“For example, in the module on cycling, we cover topics like wearing the right protective gear, being seen, having an awareness of what is going on around you and what other people might do that could increase risk.

“If we can embed that sort of mindset early, that same philosophy should continue on if the person starts riding a motorbike.

“As we expand the program content further, we will be adding more specific information about motorbikes.”

Kids don’t ride bicycles

Russell points out that kids these days don’t ride bicycles as much was they used to and therefore don’t have the road-craft skills nor awareness of their vulnerability when they reach the age of getting a learner’s licence.

He’s right. School bike racks used to be full in my school days. Now there is hardly a bicycle in sight!

In fact, in 1970 more than 60% of Aussie kids cycled to school and now it’s only 11%.

Parents now drive their kids to school, creating massive traffic jams in school peak hours.

Bicycle kids will become motorcyclists program
School bicycle racks in the 1950s

“Riding did teach younger road users a degree of situational awareness and some core fundamental skills. These skills did translate into later life,” Russell says.

“Not experiencing those basic things does create a learning gap and a range of additional issues that they need to process as they learn the mechanics of operating a vehicle.”

If more children rode bicycles they might not only have more awareness of motorcycles, they might also grow up to become riders themselves.

This is the basis of an American program called All Kids Bike program which is striving to get every child to learn to ride a bicycle in kindergarten PE class.

Russell says they have held discussions with high schools and community groups about RoadSet and report “fantastic feedback and really strong interest in getting involved”.

“Our goal is to reach every Year Nine student across the country,” he says.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Teaching kids to ride ensures motorcycle future

Teaching children how to ride a bicycle is the solution for ensuring the future of motorcycling, according to American motorcycle industry guru Robert Pandya.

He points to the All Kids Bike program in the US which is striving to get every child to learn to ride a bicycle in kindergarten PE class.

“If every boy and girl, regardless of family wealth, religion or race learns how to ride, ridership will grow very fast in just a few years,” says Robert, a former Indian Motorcycle executive and now a senior motorcycle industry consultant.

Robert Pandya Bicycle kids will become motorcyclists teachingRobert Pandya

“Dirt bikes will start selling, family riding will increase, riding parks will be created and we will be in a growth curve again.

“The pure joy of your ‘knees in the breeze’ will draw more people into cycling and ultimately motorcycling.”

Kids not riding

In 1969, 50% of US kids rode bikes to school, but now it’s 13%.

It’s worse in Australia where in 1970 more than 60% cycled to school and now it’s only 11%.

School bike racks used to be full. Now there is hardly a bicycle in sight!

Bicycle kids will become motorcyclistsSchool bicycle racks in the 1950s

Parents now drive their kids to school, creating massive traffic jams in school peak hours.

If more children rode to school, just think how much better commuting would be, especially the morning commute which clashes with school times.

Consider how much easier traffic flows during school holidays.

Teaching is a long-term gain

Harley-Davidson electric bicycle balance kidsHarley-Davidson launches kids’ electric bicycles

We agree with Robert and believe Australia should follow the All Kids Bike program of teaching children to ride to safeguard the future of motorcycling.

However, Robert points out that teaching kids to ride is a long-term solution that does not address the “stale inventory” sitting in warehouses.

“Thus managers are forced to focus short-term which leaves us where we are today,” he says.

Robert believes that, without a generation of youth who can ride on two wheels, the next global financial crisis could crush the motorcycle leisure industry.

Recruit new riders

bicycleRobert says these kids will see this photo as a great day decades from now. (Image: Facebook)

In the shorter term, he says it is up to riders to encourage others to ride.

“The future of motorcycling will not come from our relatively small industry trying to get the 97% of us who are not enthusiasts to learn to ride, but from getting the 3% of us who do ride to actively recruit new riders to get us to 4%,” he says.

“That 1/3 increase on market would make many currently fraught sales directors downright giddy.

“We are working in a time when three generations are fighting through their own definitions of fun on a motorcycle.

“As boomer management finally leaves, will the GenX manager realise how poorly current 40/50-year-olds were marketed to?

“No wonder their Millennial kids are quite often not inclined to own or operate vehicles.

“Easy fix my friends – implore every rider to do what they can to add one new rider per year. Challenge, incentive and recognise those who do. Then do it again the next year.”

Website: https://www.allkidsbike.org/

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com