By Sergeant Bobby Randazzo

On Saturday, May 22, 2010, the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department hosted its first Bicycle Rodeo sponsored by the 2010 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program. The Bicycle/Pedestrian safety programs are designed to teach elementary school students the basic rules of the road to stay injury free. Our new community school has seen an increase of young children utilizing bicycles as a means of transportation to and from school.  With the assistance of Ms. Sandra Block, from the police department, this event was a huge success.

Ms. Block roped off the parking lot under the Government Center and went right to work setting up small traffic cones, stop signs, yield signs, balloons, registration tables and a video classroom.  As the twenty plus children, from the ages of 6 to 11 showed up, the parents were directed to the registration tables manned by Ms. Barbara Valera and Ms. Anna Western. The children’s bicycles were sent to station 1, the “ABC Bike Check.” Here all the bicycles were given a quick Air, Brake and Chain inspection, by K-9 Officer Rob Ostrov and Lead Lifeguard Justin Broman. Once everyone was registered, we gathered in the video classroom for a video on “Bicycle Safety” and a brief overview of the Florida State Statutes covering bicycles by Motor Officer Steve Hamedl.  At the end of this brief classroom training, all the children were fitted correctly for a bicycle helmet and parents were instructed on how to properly fit a bicycle helmet on their child’s head.  Bicycle helmets were available to every child to ensure all of them were biking safely and to stress the importance of wearing a helmet.

The real fun began when the children hit the obstacle course. The kids went right to Station 1 and picked up their repaired bicycles and set off for Station 2, the “Stop & Search,” via the two speed bumps. As the children entered the simulated driveway, they could see a real stop sign and simulated truck coming down the street. The kids were required to come to a complete stop, put one foot down, and look both ways before proceeding. Once it was clear to proceed, the kids were in route to Station 3, “Thread the Needle”, which was a series of cones that they had to weave in and out of. As they exited this station, they once again came to a full stop and waited for traffic to clear. They were than directed to Station 4, the “Rock Dodge,” where they had to dodge a rock or obstruction in their path. Exiting that station put the children at Station 5, the “Chaos Corner.” Chaos corner was a small square set up with plastic cones. The children were placed in the box one at a time and told to ride where ever they wanted. It wasn’t long before the children were bumping into each other. The children were asked to exit and then were put in the box in a single file line, allowing all the children to ride without bumping into each other. This was a great exercise to show the children the reasons why we have rules and regulations on the road. It didn’t take too many trips through the obstacle course for the children to demonstrate a strong proficiency in bicycle handling, riding safely, paying attention at intersections and understanding the principles of being alert.

All the children were awarded a certificate of completion, a picture of themselves with their bicycle and a chance to win a prize in the raffle. Ms. Block had plenty of free drinks, fruit, cookies and trail mix. A good time was had by all and special thanks go out to Chief Maas, Captain Grandinetti, Captain Snyder, Officer Alvarez, Mr. Jim Watts and Mr. Dan Varone.