Program Cycliste averti: 2000 students from 7 regions trained in safe cycling this spring!

Montreal, May 11, 2018 - Vélo Québec launches the 4th season of Cycliste averti with the support of government, municipal and community partners convinced of the importance of cycling for the younger generation. The rapid growth of the program, which this year will reach two more regions - Bas-Saint-Laurent and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean - shows that elementary school students and their families want to get around more by bike, and want to do so safely.

Over the past few weeks, more than 2,000 fifth- and sixth-graders have spent 6 hours learning all the essentials of road safety, followed by 6 hours of bike training with their teachers. Today, under the guidance of Vélo Québec-trained cycling instructors, these same students will spend half a day on the road, putting all this learning into practice in real-life situations. They will then take their individual road test, during which they will have to demonstrate that they have acquired all the right behaviors and reflexes to become safe and vigilant road users. Their progress will be evaluated and recorded in a personalized report card, a veritable cycling «driver's license».

Vélo Québec is delighted to have the support of several major financial partners, helping to ensure the program's continuity. In addition to the support of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec and Québec en forme from the outset, over the past year we have also received support from :

• Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, through the Green Fund;
• Ministry of Education and Higher Education;
• City of Montreal.

«This new support proves that cycling is a solution to environmental, travel and learning issues. Our dream is to see the Cycliste averti program deployed throughout Quebec to prepare tomorrow's cyclists,» asserts Suzanne Lareau, President and CEO of Vélo Québec.

«Quebec recently unveiled its sustainable mobility policy. Rethinking our lifestyles and modes of travel has become essential to meet the challenges posed by climate change. I'm proud to support Vélo Québec's innovative Cycliste averti program. This training program is a fine example of a concrete initiative that demonstrates the potential and advantages of active transportation as a means of getting around. Encouraging young people to use bicycles is a simple and effective way of mobilizing them and getting them involved in the fight against climate change, while at the same time encouraging them to adopt healthy lifestyle habits that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Isabelle Melançon, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change.

«Safety is everyone's business. That's why our administration has made Vision Zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads a priority. One of the strengths of this approach lies in the strong commitment of all the players in the community, who deploy and encourage concerted actions and initiatives related to road safety. The City's support for bicycle safety training for young people, through Vélo Québec's «Cycliste averti» training program, is a prime example of this, which will have a tangible impact on safety, mobility and the environment,» declares. Valérie Plante, mayor of Montreal.

«Learning how to ride a bike safely from primary school enables children to consider this obvious option for their travel and leisure activities. By integrating this leisure activity and mode of transport into their daily lives right from the start, there's every chance that it will have a ripple effect and enable the whole family to see cycling as a real alternative to the car, a key element in better mobility», adds Eric Alan Caldwell, responsible for urban planning, transportation and the Office de consultation publique de Montréal.

«Vélo Québec's Cycliste averti program provides an ideal opportunity to teach young cyclists about good cycling practices, because the pleasure of cycling also depends on being careful and respecting the Highway Safety Code,» said Nathalie Tremblay, President and CEO of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec.

«Québec en Forme is proud to contribute for a 4th consecutive year to the Cycliste Averti program. It's a powerful program that helps students take responsibility for themselves and develop all the skills they need for safe cycling, an important first step in adopting healthy lifestyle habits on a daily basis. Benoît-Hugo St-Pierre, Director of Business Development and Partnerships at Québec en Forme.

The Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM), which was the first to welcome the program into its schools and helped design it, explains why the program is so relevant to its neighborhood schools: «For us, it's important that children master the rules of safety and respect the Highway Safety Code, since many of our students ride their bikes to school," mentions Catherine Harel Bourdon, President of the CSDM. This Vélo Québec initiative promotes cycling while raising students» awareness of active transportation.

From now on, many organizations will be working with Vélo Québec to offer the Cycliste averti program on their territory: the URLS in Mauricie, Para'S'cool in Lanaudière, the Centre National de Cyclisme de Bromont in Montérégie, the CISSS in Bas-Saint-Laurent, CADUS in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, as well as Montreal partners such as Cyclo Nord-Sud, VertCité and Prévention CDN-NDG. These partnerships enable Cycliste averti to reach an ever-growing number of young apprentice cyclists, while ensuring that their specific needs are met thanks to local roots.