As recent as 1966, nearly 45% of students walked or rode a bicycle to school and only about 15% caught a ride in a family vehicle, said Phil Sarnoff, executive director of Bike Utah. Today, those numbers are almost the exact opposite. Sarnoff is on a mission to turn back time by getting kids back on bikes.
Bike Utah has a new program called Youth Bicycle Education and Safety Training (Youth BEST). Bike Utah arrives at participating schools with bikes and helmets to teach a five-hour course that covers everything important: the benefits of riding a bicycle, rules of the road, how to adjust and wear a helmet, navigating intersections, avoiding hazards, and how to make sure a bike is in safe working order. The program can happen all in one day or stretch out over a week. And at the end, students and parents can make a pledge to increase their trips to school by bike. The program is offered at no cost to schools throughout Utah. —KP
Want to get your school started? Contact Phil Sarnoff, Bike Utah executive director, 801.440.3729, psarnoff@bikeutah.org.