Project Ride programme, a cycle training course designed especially for young people.

Run by qualified teachers and administered by the Transport Control Department, with assistance from the Bermuda Union of Teachers and the Police Department, Project Ride focuses on attitude and skill development as a major means of encouraging safe driving performance.

It is incorporated in the summer teen camp programme at the Ministry of Youth, Sport & Recreation and sponsored by the Bermuda Road Safety Council as well as Colonial Insurance Company Limited, BF&M Insurance, Friesenbruch-Meyer Insurance, Argus Insurance Company Limited, and Harnett and Richardson Limited.

Further support has also been received from World Distributors, Smatt's Cycles, Ray's Cycles, Dowling's Cycles, Wheels Ltd., and Oleander Cycles.

Students are taught the art of strategic riding with an emphasis on a caring, responsible and defensive attitude toward road use, according to the Ministry of Transport's road safety officer Mrs. Laura Smith.

The course introduces students to various aspects of road use, concentrating on correct and safe procedures for dealing with Bermuda's congested roads, she said.

The programme covers topics including basic cycle maintenance, how to communicate with other road users, how to read the road signs and markings, a system of cycle control, safe positioning and following distances, correct braking and acceleration procedures and how to negotiate corners, junctions and roundabouts.

Students will also learn about skid prevention, overtaking, road sense, courtesy and responsibility, licensing and insuring your cycle, the laws governing road use and some common traffic offences.

Said Mrs. Smith: "We prefer to have 15-year-old students in the programme because younger students may forget what they learn by the time they go on the road. But we also welcome kids who are already on the road. Often 16-year-olds don't feel as secure as they'd like to.

"But we generally accept 15-year-olds first and if the course doesn't fill up, we'll accept younger students,'' she added.

Students are tested at the end of the course and are awarded a certificate for successful completion, said Mrs. Smith, adding that insurance companies like Colonial and BF&M recognise the certificate and will award successful students a discount on insurance premiums.

Project Ride, which started in 1989, runs during the school year for eight weeks at a time. Students meet once a week for one-and-a-half hours.

But the summer course, which was introduced last year, is concentrated, said Mrs. Smith. "Students meet for three-and-a-half hours per session over a one week period.'' There will be six Project Ride courses this summer starting in July. And each class will accept eight students or a maximum of ten, noted Mrs. Smith.

"School teachers Mr. Jeremy Ball and Mr. Roy Parker will be teaching the course this summer,'' she said, adding that they previously completed a teaching training course designed by the Project Ride steering committee.

The course cannot, by itself, teach students to be responsible road users, noted Mrs. Smith. This can only be accomplished through the commitment of dedicated teachers, parents and friends who reinforce the importance of responsible road behaviour, she said.

"But Project Ride is absolutely a useful programme. And it helps to increase the kids' confidence level.'' YOUNG RIDERS -- The Project Ride summer camp at Devon Lane School was designed to teach 15-year-olds to ride a bike safely.