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Children learn rules of the road
Marengo police teach bicycle safety
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MARENGO — Iowa Valley Elementary third graders learned rules of the road during a bicycle safety course conducted by Marengo police May 15.
Compass Memorial Healthcare donated helmets for students to wear during the safety program and to take home with them.
Though the school has hosted bicycle safety programs in the past, it’s been a while, said Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray. “This is the first year they’ve done it recently,” he said.
“I’ve been trying to put this together for a few years,” Gray said. He’s been disappointed at the lack of helmets he sees when children ride their bikes around town. He also hears complaints about children not following traffic rules when they are riding their bikes on the streets, he said.
One child on a bike has been hit by a car already this year, said Gray, and two car-bike collisions were reported last year.
“I’m an avid bike rider,” said Gray. He puts in several hundred miles a year. That makes him passionate about teaching children to do things right on the road, he said.
Before the bicycle safety course, the school nurse fitted students with helmets and instructed the children about keeping their bodies safe, said Gray. Then students went outside, collected their bikes and wheeled them to the side of the school building where Gray waited to teach riding etiquette.
Iowa Valley Elementary physical education instructor Ryne Christner, police officer Mason Eldridge and reserve officer Ryan Miller helped students navigate traffic cones set up to represent lanes on the road.
Children walked the route next to the school first, learned which side of the sample road to drive on and where the stop signs were. A couple of volunteers acted as pedestrians, and students took turns riding up and down the “road.”
Gray told students during the safety course that they should ride on the sidewalk if they can. If they must ride on the street, they have to follow the same traffic rules cars do.
Bicyclists have to ride on the right side of the street, said Gray. Children should ride on the right side of the sidewalk as well, he said, and make room for pedestrians walking the other way.
Gray quizzed the students about stop signs and yield signs and what they mean. He told students not to wear earbuds while riding because they won’t be able to hear cars around them.
In a contest between a car and a bike, the car always wins, Gray told the third graders.
While Gray taught children rules that will keep them safe on roads, he also wants cars to be aware of cyclists and to watch for them.
There has to be a balance, said Gray.
