Youth cyclist (file photo/paNOW staff)

By Keaton Brown

Promoting bike safety

City launches new program to promote bike safety

Jun 28, 2019 | 5:00 PM

School is out and bike safety is in.

Battlefords Community Safety Officers have launched a new bike safety campaign aimed at promoting safe and responsible riding.

The city’s Community Safety Officers remind parents and guardians to stress the importance of safety to young cyclists, especially the use of helmets.

The highest hospitalization rates for people with cycling-related head injuries is children aged 10 to 19 compared to all other injuries and age groups.

Using a helmet when cycling reduces the risk of sustaining a head or brain injury by up to 85 percent.

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CSOs have been supplied with a number of helmets they will distribute to riders they find biking without a helmet who could benefit from being supplied with one.

Dustin MacDonald, North Battleford’s communications administrator, said the helmets were provided by Canadian Tire at cost. Funding was provided through the CSOs and a few anonymous individuals in the community.

CSOs will also be trying something different this year to promote safe riding. They will give youth who are ‘caught’ practicing safe cycling positive tickets.

These positive tickets will include a certificate and a pass to the Credit Union CUplex Battlefords CO-OP Aquatic Centre.

“It is important to provide positive reinforcement because we want to reward these young cyclists for riding safely,” MacDonald said. “Parents are positive role models, so clearly the parents are doing something right and we want acknowledge both for being safe. We want those youth know that they are doing something that is important and that they continue to ride safely for the rest of the summer”.

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keaton.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow