Kids Two is the official name given by the League of
American Bicyclists to CAT’s bike safety instruction for cyclists who want
to learn to ride a bicycle in traffic but who do not know how to drive a car
(usually because they are too young to have a driver’s license). Occasionally the Kids Two course is what we
use when teaching an adult who has never learned to drive.
Kids Two is always taught by a League Cycling
Instructor (LCI), insured by American
Specialty.
Kids Two course content includes everything taught in Kids One: fitting the helmet, why we wear a helmet,
what a helmet doesn’t do, bike types, the right bike for you, fitting your
bike, identifying essential parts, performing a quick safety check, practicing
basic skills in a traffic free environment, and learning emergency
procedures.
Basic
Skills include, starting, stopping, turning, swerving, and scanning.
Emergency
procedures include panic stops, sudden turns, rock/glass dodging and scanning
at speed.
In
addition, Kids Two teaches cyclists to act as
vehicle operators.
Kids Two provides a working knowledge of the traffic law, necessary to operate
any vehicle safely on our roadways, including the concepts of first come first
served; traffic keeps to the right in this country; all vehicle operators must obey
all signs and signals; faster traffic passes on the left, traffic from a slower
road must yield to traffic from a faster road, and instruction on proper
placement in an intersection to use left turn, through and right turn lanes.
Kids Two continues with instruction on those aspects of riding a bike in traffic
that are unique to the bicycle because the bicycle is smaller, narrower and
usually slower than most motorized vehicles on the road. This instruction includes being visible and
predictable; using the right most lane going in your direction; and proper
positioning in the lane.
Kids Two content is taught under many different names and programs at CAT
including, Kids Too, Teenagers Learning to Ride Anywhere; Safe Routes to
School, and Bike Safety on the Trail or Mountain Biking 101.
CAT
pays $20 per hour for the League Cycling Instructor(s) necessary to make Kids Two possible.
Kids Two instruction requires no more
than a 5:1 ratio of students to instructors, although experienced cyclists who
have passed Road One may
assist and increase this ratio to 10:1 during rides on the roadway after
initial road instruction is completed.
Sometimes instructors will volunteer, and we have grant money to pay
additional instructors where necessary, but the first instructor should be paid
by the sponsor or host of the Kids Two course.
The
League of
American Bicyclists calls Kids Two a 7-hour course, but Effective Cycling
author, John Forester cites research and personal experience showing the
average child requires 30 hours of instruction before being safe to ride alone
in traffic. CAT recommends an
instructor or parent or guardian who has passed Road One accompany any Kids Two
graduate for whatever time necessary, riding in on the street, until the child
or teenager no longer swerves unexpectedly and can handle, without guidance,
any traffic situations likely to be encountered. Our experience shows this varies widely from person to person,
but averages an additional 20-25 hours for most Kids Two graduates.
CAT
provides this time for children and teenagers who visit the Bethlehem Bicycle
Cooperative by providing rides to local destinations picked by the kids, such
as schools, libraries, stores and home streets. CAT also provides instructor led Kids Two
rides at local events such as bike derbies, parades, scout meetings,
church picnics and after school programs.
Funding to pay the instructors and provide necessary insurance is
provided the City of Bethlehem, Just Born Incorporated, and by an anonymous
foundation.
Helmets,
for children who need them are always free, courtesy of the Safe Kids Coalition
and an anonymous foundation grant. The
same foundation provided training bikes so people can come in and take Kids Two before they buy a new bike.
No one may continue with the Kids Two course if he or she can not pass the scanning test. Only cyclists who pass the scan test may be taught to safely ride in traffic.
CAT offers Kids Two every Saturday at the Bethlehem Bicycle Cooperative (BBC). For the current schedule and directions please see CAT’s Bicycle Safety Classes.
Kids Two is also available by appointment at the BBC or off-site for birthday parties, schools, day-care, after-school programs, scout troops, church groups or any other places cyclists, or potential cyclists may congregate. Please call 610-954-5744 or email bbc@car-free.org for more information.
More than 175 families took Kids Two from CAT coordinated LCIs in 2005.