February 2, 2000

To: Toronto Cycling Committee

From: Barb Wentworth, Bicycle Safety Coordinator

Subject: Grant Applications for Safety Education Programs.

In order to support the CAN-BIKE program and the Road and Trail Safety Ambassadors Program, grants are being written to potential funding agencies.

Following is a Summary of Proposal for the CAN-BIKE Development Project recently submitted to the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, for the information of the Committee.

Attached are letters of support garnered on our programs from Mr. W.J. Lucas, Regional Coroner for Toronto, Ms. Christine Gardner, Manager of the Road Safety Marketing Office at the Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Jim Kenzie, Chief Auto Reviewer at the Toronto Star, Mr. Jim Crosscombe, President of the Ontario Cycling Association and Ms. Monica Campbell, Manager, Health Promotion & Environmental Protection Unit, Toronto Public Health.

Summary of Proposal for the CAN-BIKE Development Project:

We know from research and past experience that education courses are offered to increase the safe operation of vehicles and improve people's ability to make good choices in road safety. We also know that head injuries are a critical factor in collisions involving cyclists. In order to reduce the incidence, prevalence and impact of neurotrauma injury, we have offered a small number of CAN-BIKE cycling education courses in Toronto over the past few years. CAN-BIKE is a national cycling education program designed for all skill levels and ages of cyclists. Courses teach everything you need to know in order to make safe decisions while cycling. The goal of the CAN-BIKE Development Project is to increase skills and judgement of cyclists and drivers in order to increase the safe operation of all vehicles and to prevent brain and spinal cord injuries related to collisions and crashes involving cyclists.

Our first objective is to make CAN-BIKE training courses more accessible to the cycling community and to increase the number of people enrolled in the courses. We will hire four CAN-BIKE program leaders during the cycling season (July - Sept 00 and April - June 01) to carry out a variety of outreach initiatives to attract public interest and to evaluate both the outreach initiatives and the effectiveness of the courses. We will teach CAN-BIKE courses; helmet fitting sessions; safety seminars at public gatherings; specialty courses for target groups; drop-in learning opportunities, and media training.

Our second objective is to provide CAN-BIKE cycling information to driver trainers - information that is not currently available in driver training curriculums. Our target audience will be motor vehicle trainers, taxicab trainers, transit trainers, truck driver trainers and corporate fleet trainers. We will hire two CAN-BIKE program leaders (October 00 - March 01) to develop a series of CAN-BIKE cycling education sessions for a targeted group of driving instructors and to evaluate the success of this program. We will provide expert cycling information through - CAN-BIKE training and dissemination of print material for targeted groups of driving instructors; curriculum review and development appropriate for this audience; lunch and learn sessions; community college involvement in instructor training, and media training.

We believe that this expansion of cycling education is imperative because of the following facts:

· Regional Coroner W.J. Lucas in his Report on Cycling Fatalities in Toronto 1986-1996 made recommendations including more widespread availability of CAN-BIKE training for children and youth; more encouragement of helmet use; establishing criteria for cycling content in driver training programs and more information on cycling in the Province of Ontario's Official Bus and Truck Handbooks;

· 2.4 million people live in the City of Toronto - 48 percent or 939,000 residents over age 15 are cyclists (no statistics on numbers of cyclists under 15 years of age);

· approximately 300 cyclists registered for CAN-BIKE training courses in 1999;

· the City of Toronto teaches more CAN-BIKE courses than any other centre in Canada;

· CAN-BIKE training is mandatory for Police Bicycle Patrol Officers - 65 courses were taught in 1999;

· Ontario Catastrophic Sports - Recreational Injuries Survey (1991-1992) by SportSmart Canada points to other education programs for snowmobiling and water safety as being excellent for injury prevention;

· Winnipeg Bicycle Accident Experience: Facts and Opportunities for Improvement (1990) by R. Thom suggests that 70 - 80 percent of the collisions were related to lack of cycling skill.

· there were five smog alert episodes in Toronto lasting nine days. (Toronto Public Health); this points to the necessity of encouraging safe cycling as part of the air quality solution.

Contact:

Ms. Barb Wentworth

Bicycle Safety Coordinator

(416) 392-1142