Encouraging Bicycle Safety

Most warm days after school, 10-year-old Kelly Pryor pedals through his neighborhood streets.

And thanks to Eileen Hyatt, his fourth-grade teacher at Farwell Elementary, Kelly and his friends understand the significance of bicycle safety. “It’s important so we don’t get in an accident and get hurt,” he says.

Pryor is one of more than 4,000 elementary schoolchildren in the Spokane area who participated in Basics of Bicycling. Developed by the Bicycle Federation of America, the seven-lesson, on-bike safety program was introduced to the Spokane area by Kelly’s teacher four years ago.

“I figured if something needs to happen, why not me,” Hyatt says. She has been a recreational cyclist since 1980 and has traveled through foreign countries on her bike. A schoolteacher for 26 years, she says, “This brought together my vocation and avocation.

“I could see this was a quality program,” she adds.

Pryor took the course six months ago. But the lessons are fresh in his mind. “You have to always wear your helmet and make it fit correctly,” he says. “You have to check and make sure the tires, seat and handlebars aren’t loose. And you have to ride on the right side of the road, looking over your left shoulder. You signal with your left hand.”

Hyatt offers the Basics of Bicycling curriculum to physical education teachers for free. She secured helmets, bikes and training materials donated by businesses and service and public sector organizations. She says that quality equipment attracted increasing numbers of teachers and kids to the program.

In 1992 fewer than 200 kids at Hyatt’s own school took the course. This year more than 20 schools in three districts participated. “It works beautifully,” she says.

If you would like to bring Basics of Bicycling to your school, contact Eileen Hyatt through the Spokane Bicycling Club at 325-1171.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: Each Monday, Discoveries highlights people making a difference in Spokane. If you have a discovery that deserves recognition, write to: Elana Jefferson, Editorial Department, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane 99201.