AUSTRALIAN CITY MAKES WAY FOR "THE FREEDOM MACHINE" (BICYCLE SAFETY PROGRAM)

The "Geelong Bike Plan", a five-year experiment in Geelong (Victoria) which combines education, enforcement, engineering, and encouragement to make bicycling safer, was begun in 1979. As most bicycle accident victims are children between the ages of nine and 13, the education portion is focused on primary schools. Each school has a Bike Ed Kit, a set of teaching booklets, posters, and color slides which cover instruction in road safety, riding skills, and bike mechanics. Teachers are trained in using the materials, with emphasis on training children to be safe riders in normal traffic. Bike awareness among Geelong motorists is cultivated by intensive press and radio publicity, public lectures and films, and special publications. The bike plan uses a cautionary and informal approach to enforcement rather than punitive action. With child cyclists, a bicycle offense report and warning letter are sent to parents for the first offense; a repeat offense might require a talk with the police. Although some off-road bike lanes have been constructed, emphasis has been on safety improvements to normal traffic routes. Local councils have been subsidized to improve traffic controls at intersections, and to smooth and widen roads for bicycle travel. The success of the Geelong bike plan has led to a major study for introducing a similar plan in Newcastle, New South Wales. Melbourne (Victoria) plans to start a bike plan based on the Geelong model.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00410721
• Corporate Authors:

  National Safety Council

  444 North Michigan Avenue
  Chicago, IL  United States  60611
• Authors:
  • Scambary, R
• Publication Date: 1980-9

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 14-15
• Serial:
  • Traffic Safety (Chicago)
  • Volume: 80
  • Issue Number: 9
  • Publisher: National Safety Council
  • ISSN: 0041-0721

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycles; Children; Crashes; Cyclists; Education; Local government; Safety; Safety education; Safety programs
• Uncontrolled Terms: Enforcement
• Geographic Terms: Australia
• Old TRIS Terms: Safety practices
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00382073
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-030 482
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 30 1984 12:00AM