Safety first at Inuvik bike rodeo

East Three Elementary School students learned the importance of wearing a helmet while riding a bike last week – and received a new helmet for free if they didn't have one.

The three-day bike rodeo, organized by municipal enforcement constables TJ Moore and Matt Hogan and RCMP Const. Stephanie Leduc, took place May 30 to June 1.

At the rodeo, kids learned how to ride on the road, hand signals, off-road skills and how to properly wear a helmet and check their bikes.

Students were invited to bring their own bikes and helmets to the rodeo, but were able to borrow a bike from the school if they did not have their own.

Free helmets were also provided to students who needed them by the Town of Inuvik, the

Northwest Territories Power Corporation, and the Inuvik Fire Department.

"The Mini Mountie theme this month is bicycle safety, so we have a colouring sheet out, and the board in the school is set up with bike safety stuff. We've been in the school promoting it, and we've been out on shift promoting it, making sure kids have their helmets," said Leduc.

Promoting the use of helmets was a big part of the rodeo, she said.

"We have a bylaw in town that if a child is not wearing a helmet, bylaw or the RCMP can seize that child's bike until they get a helmet," said Leduc. "So we're really trying to enforce children and youth wearing helmets in the community as it's a very simple thing. If they don't have a helmet, they can go to the municipal enforcement office or the fire station and get a helmet for free."

Leduc said she hopes the rodeo will be a reminder to students to wear their helmets.

"I wouldn't say it's a huge problem, kids not wearing their helmets, kids just need to be reminded to wear their helmets and why they have to wear helmets," she said. "I'm a big believer in starting education for kids while they're young. If you're ingraining something in their brains when they're young … and we keep reinforcing it, that's going to be more ingrained than if we're teaching them at a high school level."

Leduc said even if one child ends up injured because they weren't wearing a helmet, it would be a devastating situation, so it is important to educate all kids about helmet safety.

"We're trying to get them at a younger age when it's still 'cool' to wear a helmet," said Leduc.

"Some kids think it's not very cool to wear a helmet, but if everybody's wearing a helmet … then you're not cool if you're not wearing a helmet."