We then had two practical sessions - where the students got to try out the theory in the controlled environment of our basketball court. The skills session involved learning that looking straight ahead gave us a far better chance of riding straight - "you go where you look" became our mantra. We practised riding in single file and maintaining a 2 second following distance - something we all got much better at!
The intersections session was a complex learning time and this could be felt in the thoughtful silences as students focused on checking behind them before indicating their intentions. We had a compulsory stop (the one you CAN'T CHOOSE), some T-intersections (the top of the T goes before me), a round-about (which got congested at times before we got better at knowing whose turn it was to go!) and plenty of give ways to try out making decisions about when it's safe to go.
You may even notice a difference in how you think (or the feedback you are getting) when out and about in your cars! Students were encouraged to identify drivers signalling correctly as they drove through the various intersections on our road ride and many drivers on Limbrick Street received a rousing cheer for correctly indicating left as they left the round-a-bout :)
The main hope from this programme is to produce safety conscious riders who can make good decisions when they are using the road, confident movements and get to their destination promptly and happily.
We could not have provided this super programme without the super teaching from AJ of the Palmerston North Police and Phil from Sport Manawatu. Thanks guys - you rock!
