Be Alert - Accidents Hurt!

Welcome to our first article on Cycle Safety Training at Dunboyne Senior Primary School in association with Cycle Right. Following on from our success in the Leading Lights in Road Safety Awards from the Road Safety Authority (RSA), we are continuing our work promoting Road Safety in our school community.

Cycle Right is the National Standard for Cycle Training and provides practical cycle safety and skills training to promote competent and confident cyclists. Cycle Right is supported by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Cycling Ireland, with input from central and local agencies and other groups. Don MacSweeney and Richie Kelly, from Cycle Safety South Leinster visited the school for our first lesson.

This week, training took place in the classrooms. We learned about turning, stopping and the three checks - clothes check, helmet check and bike check. Our top three tips from our lessons are:

a) Clothes check – Always ensure that you’re wearing suitable clothing for every cycling trip – and make sure that clothes are close fitting to avoid them getting caught in the bicycle chain.
b) Bike check – Make sure that bicycle checks are carried out on a regular basis to ensure that your bike is in good, road worthy condition. In particular, check brakes, tyres and chain!
c) Helmet check – You should always wear your helmet flat on your head, not tilted at an angle, with chin straps fitted securely and making sure that it does not obstruct your vision.

Finally, make sure that your bike has a white light on the front and a red light on the back and always wear reflective clothing! Check out www.rsa.ie for further information!

The cycle safety training was very informative, interesting and enjoyable. We are looking forward to the next session.