LIVERMORE – Students from Livermore Elementary School will receive training on bicycle safety on Thursday, May 15. A visiting bicycle safety presenter from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine will spend the day teaching students everything from the correct way to wear a helmet to rules of the road, such as bicycling on the right side and stopping at stop signs.

“This award-winning program has proven to be very effective at teaching students how to avoid getting into bicycle crashes,” said Deborah Ladner, coalition health education coordinator. “We have taught more than 80,000 students across Maine with our team of highly trained instructors.”

The Maine Department of Transportation has contracted with the Bicycle Coalition since 2000 to teach the Bicycle Safety Education Program. Presenters spend 45 to 60 minutes with each class.

The program serves kindergarten through eighth grade, but it is aimed primarily at teaching fourth- and fifth-graders about bicycle safety before they enter the highest-risk age group of 12 to 15.

Students receive copies of the “Be a Safe Bike Driver” handout, which reinforces tips on how to practice safe bike driving with their parents, as well as the “Rules of the Road” handout for parents with safety tips for bicyclists and motorists.

Each school has a designated school bike safety coordinator who receives a short training from the visiting instructor and a packet of resources and materials to reinforce safety messages throughout the school year.

For more information about the program, e-mail [email protected] or call the coalition at 623-4511.