I was just thinking -- at age six and seven I rode to school every day
along British Columbia Highway #3, a major highway through the southern
interior of the province. Of course, things were different then. The
school was (and still is) inside a triangle bounded by two highways and
a chemical plant. The firemen used to visit the school to teach us about
handling explosives. Nonetheless, I clearly remember riding to school by
following the rules of the road. Last summer, I was driving the
Similkameen and saw groups of children riding on Hwy 3 after school.
Unlike the group I saw today, I did not see them interact with crossing
and turning traffic, but they seemed to be doing all right. While
travelling to Pro Bike 2004 in Victoria, BC (in the company of the same
traffic engineer who lets his 5-yr-old son ride on the road), I spent
some time on Salt Spring Island. It was the first week of school and
there were hundreds of children riding bikes on the highways. A lot of
them were under age 10 and many appeared to be shepherding siblings as
young as six or seven.

So I have to wonder: What's the rationale for providing the kind of
advice that appears in yesterday's report?


Darrell Noakes
Saskatoon, SK CANADA
www.BorealisOutdoor.com <http://www.BorealisOutdoor.com>
www.SaskatoonCyclingClub.ca <http://www.SaskatoonCyclingClub.ca>
Skype me! <callto://BorealisOutdoor>

Saskatoon Shines! <http://www.tourismsaskatoon.com/>



Michael Graff wrote:
> Oops, I guess that makes me a Bad Father. My kids were way younger
> than 10 when they first took to the streets with me, as I taught them
> the basics of VC.