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Skills on wheels Packed bike safety clinic teaches kids how to stay safe while ridingTim Edwards Northern News Services Published Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012
Starting off with a presentation inside, Cielo Smith taught the kids the rules of the road and how to make sure their rides are safe. An important lesson she taught them was how a helmet is supposed to fit – two fingers should be able to fit between the helmet and forehead, the same between each temple and the helmet, and there should be one finger's width of space between the strap and chin. She also made sure the kids checked their brakes, tires for air and their bike chains before riding. Josh Tartak, a youth working for the summer with the RCMP, helped instruct the class. "Stop and look both ways – make sure there's no trucks," he told the kids. Though there are no streetlights in Rankin, the kids knew what red, yellow and green signified, and were able to identify stop and yield signs. After the presentation, they went outside for hot dogs and hamburgers, and the kids who arrived without helmets were each given one to take home before they were tested on their safety knowledge. They lined up at the starting point of a 10-metre stretch, marked off on either side with pylons. After proving they could strap on their helmets properly and check their bike, they tested their brakes by speeding down the stretch and stopping. Some were better equipped than others. Though his bike brakes didn't work, Derek Fredlund shrugged off the situation and casually displayed how he stops his bike – putting one foot on the back wheel while keeping control of his bike. Though it worked, it didn't really pass the test. "Make sure to get that fixed," Smith called out as Fredlund continued riding around the parking lot, one of dozens who were learning, as a side effect, how to deal with traffic congestion.
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