Senator Rodney Ellis and Texas Bicycle Coalition Collaborate to Provide Bicycle Safety Education to Houston Youth

Nine-year-old cyclist Ruth Young was killed in August 2005 when she was struck by a school bus on her way to Frazier Elementary School in Pasadena, Texas. In response to Ruth’s death and out of concern for all young cyclists, Texas Bicycle Coalition in conjunction with Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) is working to provide bicycle safety training to teachers from all 207 elementary schools in the Houston Independent School District.

Texas Bicycle Coalition’s Texas SuperCyclist Program is an award-winning and nationally-recognized bicycle safety education course designed for 4th and 5th grade elementary school students. Through grants from the Texas Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Education, the Coalition trains 4th and 5th grade teachers across the state in the implementation of this curriculum. To date, hundreds of teachers and thousands of children have been trained in bicycle safety education around the state. By providing this same training to all elementary schools in Houston, Texas Bicycle Coalition hopes to prevent the sort of tragedy that befell Ruth Young, while at the same time promoting healthy lifestyles and alternate forms of transportation.

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