Galatia pupils learn about bicycle safety
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Representatives from Secretary of State Jesse White's office gave a special presentation on bicycle safety to third through fifth graders at Galatia Elementary School Wednesday morning.
Jason VanZandt and Missy Collins, field liaisons for driver's services, gave the presentation before allowing students to practice what they had learned on bikes.
"Today we are going to learn about bike safety," VanZandt told the kids. "Believe it or not, when you're out on your bike you need to obey the laws just like drivers do."
He talked about the importance of wearing a helmet and went over which hand signals to use at intersections.
"When do you never ever want to ride your bike?" VanZandt asked students, which was responded to with a chorus of "At night!"
Collins held up signs for students to identify. Most kids were familiar with the stop sign and traffic signal, but not all knew what the railroad crossing sign meant. VanZandt stressed the importance of stopping to listen for a train before proceeding at a railroad crossing.
Galatia Chief of Police Mike Herron was also present at the event.
"School's getting ready to get out so we're trying to make the public aware kids will be out on their bikes," said Herron. "And we want kids to do their part in keeping themselves safe."
Each student then went through a course one by one on a bicycle and had to make the right decisions about what to do at each sign. Even though they were learning about the importance of bicycle safety, the kids enjoyed themselves during the interactive presentation.