Getting Around Without a Car
Badge Kids course
Getting Around Without a Car
Riding and walking to where you need to be.
- 4 topics
- 14 lessons
- 4 quizzes
Knowing the thing you are about to ride.
Before you ride anywhere
Knowing the machine, and where it belongs.
It is not a bicycle
Nearly twice the speed is more than three times the braking distance. Ride like the machine is heavier and faster than it feels, because it is.
Helmets, properly
Level, snug, buckled. Two fingers above the eyebrows, a V under each ear, one finger under the chin strap.
Brakes, tires, lights, battery
Brakes, tires, lights, battery. Ninety seconds by the door. If the brakes fail the check, the ride is off.
Passengers and the load
One seat, one rider. Anything you carry goes on the bike or on your back, never in a hand.
- Check what you know
Quiz: The Machine
Roads, paths, and the places in between.
Roads, paths and sidewalks
Where you can ride changes by town. Which way you ride does not: on the right, with the traffic, never against it.
Being predictable
Drivers can only avoid what they can anticipate. Straight line, signal early, never disappear between parked cars.
People on foot
You are the fast thing now. Say something early, slow right down, pass wide.
- Check what you know
Quiz: Where You're Allowed
Rain, dark, and a road you cannot read.
Dark
White light front, red light back, and something that shines when a headlight hits it. If you cannot be seen at 150 feet, you are not ready.
Wet and loose
Wet means brake earlier and corner slower. Painted lines, metal covers and wet leaves are ice. Do not brake or turn on them.
Traffic you can't see
Cars turning across you, doors opening beside you, cars backing out in front of you. Assume each one every time, and leave yourself room to be wrong.
- Check what you know
Quiz: Conditions
Planning the trip, both directions.
Transit on your own
Know the stop, the number, and the one after it. Missed one: wait for the next. Wrong one: off at the next stop, and tell someone.
Being dropped off and picked up
Agreed spot, agreed person, agreed time. Late means wait where you are, then call. It never means a different car.
Getting home from somewhere that stopped being fine
Agree the way out before you go. One text means come get me. No questions tonight, and you will never be in trouble for sending it.
- Check what you know
Quiz: Getting There and Back