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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 482 989 SP 041 240 Good Practices Guide for Bicycle Safety Education. TITLE Department of Transportation, Washington, DC. INSTITUTION FHWA-SA-02-001 REPORT NO 2002-00-00 PUB DATE NOTE 72p. Non-Classroom (055) Guides PUB TYPE EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE DESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; Elementary Secondary Education; *Equal Education; High Risk Students; Higher Education; Low Achievement; Preservice Teacher Education; *State Standards; *Teacher Competencies; *Teacher Qualifications; Urban Schools ABSTRACT The purpose of this guide is to serve as an informational resource for educators and other interested professionals in planning and developing bicycle safety education programs. The guide examines 15 existing bicycle safety education programs in the United States and one from Canada. (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the ba(that can be made from the original document. SPTR 0376 S P, dab fte U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Oft of Educational Research and Improvement EDU ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) his document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 Disclaimer This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United Stated Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. The contents of this document do not constitute a stan- dard, specification, or regulation. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade and manufacturers' names may appear in this document only because they are considered essential to the object of the document. Publication number: FHWA-SA-02-001 HSA-4/30-02 (5M)QE 3 , Table of Contents Background and Purpose 1 Structure of the Good Practices Guide 1 Case Studies 2 Interview Method 2 Case Studies Quick Reference 4 Elementary, Middle, and/or High School- Age Programs 7 Adult Programs 32 Train-the-Trainer Programs 34 Planning Your Program 52 Funding Your Program 53 Sample Funding Sources 54 Tips for Finding and Preparing Grants 54 Bicycle Safety Education in Public Schools 56 Developing Partnerships 58 Alternative Venues and Subjects 60 Off-Campus Programs 60 Progressive Bicycle Education Programs 60 Evaluation Methods 62 Evaluation of Students' Knowledge and Skills Retention 62 Program Evaluation 62 Publicity 63 Conclusion 64 Background and Purpose In 1998, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) convened a steer- ing group of bicycle safety experts and developed the National Bicycle Safety Education Curriculum. This Curriculum lists several bicycle safety education topics and target audiences cyclists of different ages and abilities, as well as motorists. A Resource Catalog was developed which identifies and describes bicycle safety education programs that address these curriculum topics and target audiences. This Resource Catalog has been converted to a searchable, online database that is available at the following internet address: www.bicyclinginfo.org/ee/fhwa.html. The FHWA has determined that good practices can be drawn from some of the educational resources identified in the resource catalog/database. The FHWA conducted in-depth interviews with bicycle safety educators, developed case studies, and summarized the results as good practices. The Good Practices Guide will be useful to those who plan to develop bicycle safety education programs, as well as those who are looking for the ideal existing bicycle safety program to use in their community. The purpose of the Good Practices Guide is to serve as an informational resource for educators and other interested professionals in planning and developing bicycle safety education programs. The Guide examines 15 existing bicycle safety education programs in the United States and one from Canada. The FHWA would like to acknowledge the assistance of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the development of this document. FHWA and NHTSA developed a formal partnership in 1998 to produce and oversee implementation of an intermodal plan to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, promote bicycling and walking as alternative modes of transportation, and support ongoing livability initiatives. Structure of the Good Practices Guide The Good Practices Guide consists of three primary sections: Case Studies, Good Practices, and Conclusion. This section includes a brief introduction that Case Studies describes the selection of case studies, the interview method, a case studies quick reference, and the case studies. The case studies provide specific examples of how educators have developed bicycle safety programs. , 5 Planning Your Program -This section describes lessons that can be learned from the bicycle safety education programs surveyed and provides a holistic view of the different strategies and issues that should be considered while developing a bicycle safety education program. The section is organized into six topic areas: Funding Your Program Bicycle Safety Education and Public Schools Developing Partnerships Alternative Venues and Subjects Evaluation Methods Publicity Conclusion -This section summarizes the major issues that should be considered when developing a bicycle safety education course. Case Studies A list of bicycle safety program sponsors was identified as potential interviewees. This list was developed with the assistance of FHWA, NHTSA, the League of American Bicyclists, and individual bicycle safety experts. Program sponsors were then contacted and interviewed using a pre-established set of questions. Sixteen interviews were developed into case studies. Interview Method During the interviews, various bicycle-related topics were emphasized. However, all interviews included the following questions: What is the program title? What is the target audience? When did the program begin? What is the time duration of instruction? What are the learning topics? What is the method of instruction? What learning materials or resources are provided to the participants? 2 Are there evaluation methods? What are they? What is the funding method of the program? What are the elements of the program that make it successful? What are the elements of the program that prove challenging? What recruiting or publicity methods are used for the program? Sixteen case studies of bicycle safety programs are organized under the following three headings: Elementary, Middle, and/or High School Age Programs Adult Programs Train-the-Trainer Programs See the following two pages for quick reference to the sixteen bicycle safety program case studies in this Good Practices Guide for Bicycle Safety Education. 3 7 Case Studies Quick Reference Elementary, Middle, and/or High School Age Programs - BikEd Hawaii One week (five 45-minute 7 sessions) on-bike program for fourth grade students Bicycle Safety One-hour classroom pres- 9 entation for third through Education Program fifth grade students (BSE) 45-minute classroom pres- 12 BIPED entation for kindergarten through fifth grade students Seven- to ten-hour on-bike Bicycle Safety and 15 program for fourth Awareness Program through seventh grade students Two-hour classroom/on- Kids on Bikes 17 bike program for elementary school-age children Eight 90 minute on-bike After School Bike Club 19 sessions for middle school- age children Two-hour classroom/on- Bike Lesson and Safety 22 bike program for elemen- Training Program tary, middle school, and (BLAST) high school-age students 18 hours working in pro- Earn a Bike 26 gram bicycle shop, six and Ride Club hours working on own bicycle, and 20 hours of safety instruction (ten weeks, two hours per week) for upper-elementary-age through high school-age youths Flexible ten-week program Sprockids 29 (two one-hour sessions per week) for elementary through high school-age students , 4 Adult Programs Description Program Title Page 1 1 Effective Cycling/Road I 32 20 hours (five four-hour sessions) on-bike program for adults (primarily) and teenagers 9 , % Train-the-Trainer Programs ' Description Page . a 34 One-day workshop Texas Super Cyclist instructing bicycle safety Project for teachers of fourth and (Instructor Training) fifth grades One- to two-day work- 38 Florida Traffic and shops for school teachers Bicycle Safety and community trainers to Education Program serve as instructors for grades K-2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and driver's education students 90-minute program for Helmet Your Brain 41 teachers of primary, ele- Avoid the Pain° Helmet mentary, and middle Education Program school children Two-day workshop for law 44 Nevada Elementary enforcement officers, Traffic Safety Program teachers, and other com- Instructor Course munity volunteers who teach bicycle safety to children of any age One-day workshop for 47 Teaching Safe Bicycling bicycle safety instructors, (TSB) including police officers, school teachers and others who instruct elementary and middle school students Two-day workshop for Home to School Safe SO teachers, police officers, Travel for Children fire department staff, and (Train-the-Trainer) other professionals who teach bicycle and pedestrian safety to children grades K-5 6 1 0