Switzerland is forgetting how to ride a bike

Fewer children are learning to ride a bike in Switzerland. Roger Bader, Head of traffic instruction at the Solothurn Cantonal Police is raising the alarm.

Bader told the Blick news outlet “when we start preparing for the bicycle test in fourth grade, more and more children have never ridden a bicycle."

He said he feared that children who have never learnt how to ride a bike, will always prefer to drive rather than cycle. 

A survey of the cantons shows that it’s not just Solothurn, but nationwide, and worse in cities than in rural areas. 

According to the Federal Mobility Survey, bicycle use among children and young people has halved since 1994. Today, less than one in five 13- to 15-year-olds rides a bike daily. 

Bader urges parents to teach their children bicycle safety and not rely on schools. 

 

 

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