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ITD to sponsor bicycle, pedestrian safety training for law enforcement

Spring weather will bring more bicyclists and pedestrians on or near Idaho’s highways. In anticipation, ITD will sponsor a statewide training for law enforcement officers to brush up on Idaho’s bicycle and pedestrian safety laws.

ITD’s Office of Highway Safety awarded WE BIKE, etc., LLC, a contract to provide bicycle and pedestrian safety training to law enforcement officers beginning this month. The contract includes the “Continuum of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training for Law Enforcement” developed by WE BIKE in 2006.

The “Continuum” is a planned succession of safety information and multi-faceted training, from basic to in-depth, delivered over several months to law enforcement officers. Concluding two-day pedestrian and bicycle safety workshops tentatively are scheduled for Boise and Coeur d’Alene in June.

“The goal of this joint effort is to eliminate pedestrian and bicycle traffic crashes with vehicles on Idaho’s urban roads though education and enforcement,” said Donna Vasquez, with ITD’s highway safety office.

“This is the first time WE BIKE has worked in Idaho,” said Peter Flucke, the firm's president and a former law enforcement officer.

“Law enforcement officers in Idaho are looking for ways to improve the safety of their residents, especially as higher gas prices and health concerns push residents to walk and bike more often,” Flucke said.