Free Bicycle Safety Classes for Adults

A Tri-Agency Collaboration Funded by the Marin General Hospital Trauma Program

Marin General Hospital's Trauma Program and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition are continuing to improve safety in Marin County by providing free bicycle safety classes. In 2003 the Marin County Emergency Medical Services reported that for accidents in which 911 was called, 78% of the bicycle crashes involved cyclists 18 years or older. Christy Frecceri, RN, Director of Marin General Hospital's Trauma Program wants to reduce this volume of incidents, and says, "The skills taught in these bicycle safety classes could very well be lifesaving. We encourage all riders to take advantage of these free offerings."

For this current class series, Marin County Law Enforcement and Marin County Superior Courts are allowing traffic citation fee reduction through class attendance. This partnership is the second of its kind in the Bay Area to provide bicycle education as a traffic court option.

Basic Street Skills Classes

Cyclists aged 16 and up are invited to sign-up now for a free "Basic Street Skills" class. Drivers will benefit too by learning how and why bicycles maneuver on the roads. In just two hours, this power-point-based class will teach participants to safely and confidently use a bicycle for transportation. Topics covered include how to avoid crashes and citations, improve visibility, ride between and through intersections, the legal rights and obligations of cyclists, and more.

All classes are held at: Marin General Hospital Conference Center, 250 Bon Air Road, Greenbrae. The free classes are offered at the following days and times:

Thursday, January 27, 2005: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Thursday, March 10, 2005: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Thursday, May 12, 2005: 6:30 - 8:30 PM

Click on the poster to see a full-screen version.

Class Registration

Advance class registration is necessary. People can register for a class by providing their name, address, email, phone and class date in one of the following ways: on-line at www.marinbike.org, faxing to 415-456-9344, calling the Marin County Bicycle Coalition at 415-456-3469 ext. 3#, or emailing streetskills@marinbike.org. A confirmation will be sent to all who are registered for the classes.

Class Instructor

Taught by nationally recognized bicycle safety educator John Ciccarelli, "Basic Street Skills" is a dynamic 2-hour virtual tour of bicycle commuting techniques. A bicycle is not necessary for the class, unless you plan to ride one there!

For a listing of all Street Skills classes taught by John Ciccarelli and other Bay Area League Cycling Instructors (LCIs), visit http://www.bicyclesolutions.com/BayAreaClassTable.htm.

Transit and Bike Parking

Bike racks are available, but must be used at your own risk. Be sure to lock your bike to the rack and remove all valuables from it. To get to the racks from the West Entrance, go up the hill and merge left to the backside of the hospital; the parking station is just past the merge on the left past a trailer.

Golden Gate Transit bus Route 29 stops directly at MGH every half hour, including 6:18pm (in time for the 6:30 class) and then again at 8:44pm (this is the last bus until 10:44pm). For more information see: www.goldengatetransit.org.

Click here to see the class poster
Click here to see the class brochure
Click here to read the class press release

MGH is part of Sutter Health, one of the nation's leading not-for-profit networks of community-based health care providers, delivering high quality care in more than 100 Northern California communities. Sutter Health supports more than two dozen locally run acute care hospitals and physician organizations, medical research facilities, physician and nurse education programs, and region-wide home health, hospice and occupational health services.