The ANWB believes that every child should be able to move safely through traffic on a bicycle. To achieve this, more attention must be paid to the road safety and cycling skills of children. In addition, a bicycle is not self-evident for 1 in 9 children, because there is often no money for it. This must also change. That is why the ANWB has started the campaign 'Every child safely on the bike'.
E-bikes, cargo bikes, speed pedelecs, electric scooters. It is getting busier on the cycle path and therefore a lot more confusing, especially for children. Moreover, there is the impression that the cycling skills of children have decreased significantly in recent years. The ANWB is seriously concerned about this. Every year, an average of 700 children under the age of 14 are seriously injured in a cycling accident (SWOV: 2020). That is why it is time for action. Because if nothing happens, the number of young traffic victims will increase further. Another problem is that some children don't even have a bicycle because there is simply no money for it.
With the campaign 'Every child safely on the bike', the ANWB is calling attention to children's cycling skills and to the ANWB Children's Bicycle Plan. Children especially learn to cycle safely when they make a lot of meters from an early age, preferably accompanied by their parents and in traffic. They can familiarize their child with busy traffic in a playful way and teach them to anticipate this. For this, parents will find all kinds of useful tips on the ANWB website.
In addition, the ANWB believes that every child has the right to their own bicycle. Because gaining cycling experience at a young age is important and with a bicycle they can also participate much better in social traffic. That is why the ANWB Children's Bicycle Plan is calling on everyone in the Netherlands to donate unused bicycles. There are enough of these: research has shown that 3,8 million bicycles are unused in the Dutch sheds. The collected bicycles are repaired together with volunteers in workshops and then, with the help of partners, end up with the children who need them most. More than 17.000 children have been given their own bicycle since the start of the Children's Bicycle Plan in 2015.
Since its inception, the ANWB has been committed to bicycle safety in all kinds of ways, including the ANWB Streetwise traffic education program. With this, the ANWB visits more than 900 schools every year. In collaboration with the Edwin van der Sar Foundation, bicycle helmets are also awarded to children in primary schools. The ANWB reports this on them website.
Photo below: ANWB image bank.
Also read: Utrecht enforcers will check for safe cycling behavior
