“Disturbing”: 70% of school bicycles are not in order in Bruges

The police and the city are calling on parents to do something about it. Because now that the weather is longer dark, this creates unsafe situations in traffic.

Controls in the school district

This morning it was the turn of the pupils of the sixth grade of primary school The color palette at a bicycle check on the Burg in Bruges. And that was kind of exciting.

In the past, the police and the prevention service went to the schools. Now they organize the checks at a central location in all districts and in the center. This is faster and more efficient.

“70% of bicycles not in order”

In recent weeks, the police have checked just over 1,000 bicycles. Not all results are known yet, but it is already clear that many bicycles are not in order. The most common deficiencies are reflectors in the wheels and a white reflector in the front.

Alderman for prevention in Bruges Mathijs Goderis: “We see that almost 70 percent of the bicycles are not or not completely in order. What is even more disturbing is that in almost 44 percent of the bicycles the light is missing or not working properly works.

As a city council, we would like to appeal to all parents. Please have your child’s bike fixed. It is very important in these dark months that the visibility is very good.”

Bring the result home

All students receive a card with the result of the check.

Kelly Margodt, primary school teacher Het Kleurpalet: “We will give the leaves home tonight. And then we will check at the parent meeting whether the bicycle is okay and when we go on the road again we can also check whether it is okay. “

At the end of the school year, the city also organizes a bicycle exam.