Scooters

More and more children are riding their scooters to school. As well as having fun on a scooter, with training kids can learn important and useful skills;

• traffic awareness
• footpath etiquette
• looking for cars reversing out of driveways
• what to do at pedestrian crossings and intersections.
  

Many of these skills are essential for all kinds of travel, whether it’s scooting, walking, cycling, skateboarding, or – in years to come – driving. Helping kids to become street smart gives parents more confidence to let their kids travel independently. And the more kids who scoot, walk, or cycle to school, the less traffic congestion at school gates and on our roads, which is good for other road users and the environment.

The Scooter Safety Programme is supported by MICRO Scooters NZ  and is available in Lower Hutt, Wairarapa and Wellington City.

Instructors cover safety awareness and the skills to scoot safely.

Programme content

 Safety awareness

1. What to wear when scooting - helmet and shoes (no jandals!)
2. Safety checking your scooter - wheels, clamps and brake
3. Choosing safe places to scoot
4. What to do before you start scooting - look, listen
5. Reasons to control your scooter’s speed - be safe to stop, be seen, see others

Skills for safer scooting

1. Foot positioning on the deck for balance and braking
2. Braking with control - no skidding!
3. Stopping - what to do when you need to stop in a hurry
4. Changing the foot with which you kick
5. Cornering safely - protect against falls and foot injuries

Equipment

The instructors may bring Micro helmets and Micro scooters for the students to use for the sessions.

Venue

We need a court sized area. Either an outdoor area or indoor hall are ideal. In case of rain it is preferable to have an in-door back-up if an outdoor area is planned. Alternately a “rain date” can be arranged.

Duration

The sessions are run during class time. A 45-60 min block is ideal but we are happy to work within your usual timetable.  

Bookings

Please contact your local council to book. In order to organise instructors for your groups we will need to know:

• Which dates you would prefer (and any alternate choices or rain dates as well)
• How many groups/classes of children (up to 30 per group)
• What times the groups will be (e.g. 9:15-10:30, 10:45-12:00 etc.)
• Any special needs of the students who will be participating