GOHS Grant Renewed

 

The BikeAthens Board of Directors is proud to announce that for the third year, BikeAthens has received a grant of $46,900 from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS).  Using these grant funds, BikeAthens will continue to conduct bike safety seminars throughout the coming year. Over the last 12 months, BikeAthens taught bike helmet safety in local schools, taught monthly bike education classes at the Municipal court, and participated in on-campus events to educate UGA students. With this year’s grant funds, BikeAthens will expand and improve these programs. We have already hosted two bikes rodeos, distributed 50 helmets, and given away over 50 pairs of lights!  We will organize at least two more kids’ bike safety events in the spring, and look to create more summer programing for kids.

A vast majority of local bicycle accidents involve cyclists that are not wearing helmets, and riders over the age of 30 are three times as likely to wear a helmet as a cyclist under 30.  Nonetheless, bicyclists under 18 years of age still account for approximately 30% of Georgia’s bicycle fatalities.  To address this problem, BikeAthens will use a portion of the GOHS grant funds on helmets that BikeAthens will distribute at our safety seminars and at other public outreach events during the year. In addition to bike helmets, BikeAthens will also distribute bike lights in an effort to make Athens cyclists visible to all. BikeAthens and GOHS expect that making bikes and their riders brighter will reduce the number of accidents that occur during times of low light.

As an organization, BikeAthens has been proud to partner with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.  We are excited to extend this partnership in effort to make Athens safer for all road users: cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists alike.

Please contact Tyler Dewey at ExecutiveDirector@bikeathens.com or for more information.