The City of Fort Collins’ FC Bikes Department is launching its new Bicycle Friendly Driver program Monday, Dec. 7. The 90 minute interactive course will educate drivers on the safest ways to share the road with bicyclists and certify participants as “Bicycle Friendly Drivers” upon completion.
Taught by Bicycle Ambassadors and developed by FC Bikes and Bike Fort Collins, the course will address driver specific bicycle safety topics, including:
- common crashes and how to avoid them
- the safest way to share the road with people on bicycles
- what’s legal for drivers and bicyclists
- navigating features like sharrows, bike boxes and green lanes
“Safety is a priority for the City, and providing educational training opportunities for all transportation system users is an important component of the overall safety picture. We are excited to launch the Bicycle Friendly Driver program to reach road users at a time when biking is becoming an increasingly popular transportation choice,” said Bicycle Ambassador Program Specialist, Jamie Gaskill-Fox. Organizations or companies interested in certifying their employees as Bicycle Friendly Drivers can request individual courses. In addition, the course will be offered to the public for free starting in early 2016. “We’ve already had a few local companies complete the training with their staffs,” said Bicycle Ambassador Scott Sampl. “People who have taken the course have expressed appreciation for how the curriculum is focused on the unique situations motorists often encounter when sharing the road with people on bikes.”The Bicycle Friendly Driver program is one of the many FC Bikes initiatives to make Fort Collins a nation-wide leader in bicycling. As a Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly Community designated by the League of American Bicyclists, Fort Collins promotes a bike friendly culture through education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering and evaluation efforts. FC Bikes believes this certification is the first of its kind, nationwide. The Bicycle Ambassador Program offers a wide range of bicycle related classes in addition to the Bicycle Friendly Driver course. To learn more about other bicycle classes visit www.bicycleambassadorprogram.org.For more information on the Bicycle Friendly Driver program or to register for a class visit www.fcgov.com/BicycleFriendlyDriver or call 970-221-6987.