A Skelmersdale School have been participating in a special scheme to ensure that they stay safe while out riding their bikes.
Children in year five at Holland Moor Primary School, in Cornbrook, Skelmersdale, have been taking part in Bikeability, a nationally run programme to teach youngsters the skills and understanding of how to cycle safely on the UKs roads.
Bikeability trainers, Mr A. Magee and Mr J. Brown, form the West Lancashire School Sports Partnership, praised the work the scheme is doing, saying: “Bikeability is government recognised, practical and professional training, and we know that the young cyclists are more skilled and more confident once they have taken part.”
Following the training, for which there are three levels, each pupil who successfully completes the scheme, receives a badge and certificate recognising their achievement, something that Scott Rees & Co partner and cycling enthusiast, David Byrne (pictured), thinks is a great idea to improve road safety for cyclists in the future.
“Targeting education for younger people is always a great way to help with accident prevention moving forward.
“Bikeability is making learning about cycling safety fun for these youngsters and the fact that there is a badge and certificate at the end of the scheme for them, is great encouragement to get involved and most importantly listen and learn to the advice given to them.
“Cyclists cannot control other road users in larger more powerful vehicles and for that reason they are among the most vulnerable road users in the UK. However, if more youngsters can be taught how to understand the roads and learn the skills they need to stay safe; hopefully the number of accidents involving cyclists can reduce moving forward.”
“In our experience, as a personal injury solicitors, cyclists who have been involved in accidents on the road, often suffer devastating and life changing injuries. Having witnessed the full effects this can have on victims and their loved ones, we welcome any scheme that will help reduce the number of incidents on the roads involving cyclists.
Indeed, shocking recent figures showed that cyclists are 17 times more likely to be killed on the road than motorists. Furthermore almost 25% of cyclists killed or injured on the UK’s roads are children. These are figures that the Government’s Department of Transport will want to decrease and programmes such as Bikeability can be important to achieving that.
Cycling in the UK enjoyed a massive boost in popularity following on from 2012, where in a matter of weeks, the UK had its first ever Tour de France winner in Sir Bradley Wiggins and a plethora of gold medallists at the London Olympic Games.
Since then cycling the sport has gone from strength to strength, with Chris Froome winning three Tour de France’s in four years and expectations are relatively high for the upcoming Rio Olympics.
With more and more cyclists taking the road, the importance of road safety for cyclists is paramount, especially in urban areas, where recent figures show that 75% of the fatal or serious cycling accidents occur.
Scott Rees and Co specialise in personal injury claims and have helped many cyclists involved in road traffic accidents that were not their fault, get the compensation and treatment they need to recover from their injuries.
If you have suffered an injury as a cyclist in a road traffic accident or you know someone who has, visit our cycling accident claims page for more information about how we can help you. Alternatively, you can give us a call on 0808 278 4252 and speak to one of our advisers about your claim.