Safe Routes for Kids Bicycle Safety Program Curriculum
Children between the ages of 10 and 14 have the highest rate of bicycle crashes for all age groups. Since youths are usually at fault, a majority of crashes can be avoided through education.
The Bicycle Safety Program (BSP) is a comprehensive curriculum designed to teach 4th-7th grade students to travel safely on a bicycle. Students learn the traffic rules and regulations, the potential hazards to travelling, and handling skills needed to ride safely through their community.The BSP offers in-class lessons on bike safety concepts and laws, as well as on-the-bike training. It is geared to meet Oregon's statewide health and physical education benchmarks and meets the federal guidelines for Safe Routes to School funding. A series of corresponding optional activities are offered that meet reading, math, science, social science, and civics benchmarks.
The Bicycle Safety Program was developed by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
In 2003 Safe Routes for Kids received the National Bicycle Education Leadership Award from the League of American Bicyclists.
In 2008 the BTA received the Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future award from the United States Surgeon General for working to help prevent the childhood obesity epidemic by encouraging children to be more physically active.