HUMBOLDT 鈥� It was a way to kick off summer and teach children about safety.
The Bike Rodeo and Safety Day, organized by Safe Communities Humboldt and Area, was held May 25 at the Humboldt Curling Rink.
鈥淧eople are out and about more on our roadways and in our green spaces. Learning the proper hand signals when you鈥檙e riding a bike, making sure you鈥檝e got the proper gear with respect to helmets and that type of thing is important,鈥� said Shari Hinz, Safe Communities鈥� program co-ordinator. 鈥淓ven if someone could take away one thing from the day, it could lead to a life-saving measure for them.鈥�
The sixth annual event featured eight community sponsors, including Humboldt Emergency Services and the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute, which hosted booths encouraging summer safety when riding a bike, in in the car or at the lake.
The Humboldt Fire Department conducted bike safety checks, children borrowed bikes from Universal Sports to criss-cross simulated intersections, and No Frills provided over 50 free helmets for those without, Hinz said.
鈥淚t was huge to receive that support,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou still see kids and people out not using helmets, so we wanted to ensure that we had helmets available for youth to receive today.鈥�
Safe Communities awarded a children鈥檚 bike to six-year-old raffle winner Victoria Lohman.
Also included was a fire safety trailer which simulated a number of house fire scenarios for visitors to confront with throughout, built by the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs. The SGI鈥檚 rollover simulator 鈥� a vehicle cab with a straw dummy driver 鈥� showed the dramatic outcome difference when a driver is buckled or unbuckled in a tipped over vehicle.
The wide variety of safety demonstrations from groups throughout the community made great reminders for folks beginning their summer, Hinz said.
