A bicycle traffic test for kids in the Netherland (1935)

Every year in April some 200,000 school children in the Netherlands take a “Verkeersexamen” (traffic test). The 12 year olds will start secondary school in the following school year. An overwhelming majority of these children will get to secondary school on their bicycles. Rides of up to 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) one way are no exception. In an effort to make traffic safer the children have been taught about traffic rules since they were very young. Now it is time for their final test.

In this video some images of the practical test in Utrecht: a 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long bike ride though normal traffic. The children are being monitored and those who pass the test receive a “Verkeersdiploma” (traffic certificate). This year some lucky children in ‘s-Hertogenbosch got the certificate from the hands of the Netherlands’ future queen, Princess Máxima, who opened this year’s test season. With her presence she underlined the importance the Dutch give to children’s traffic safety and education.

Read more on The Atlantic Cities

To know more about the event visit the Energia 2012 blog

Here some great pictures by Satoshi Minakawa from the work “Customized”

Here some pictures fo Dekochari groups around Japan

WIKIPEDIA
The Dekochari or decoration charinko (デコチャリ or デコレーション・チャリンコ dekochari or dekorēshon charinko?) is a form of art bike indigenous to Japan dating back to the mid 1970s. ‘Deko’ in Japanese is short for decoration and ‘Chari’ is slang for bike. The Dekochari was a response by children to the Dekotora (‘Tora’ is short for Truck) craze which swept Japan after a series of movies called Truck Yaro was released. These movies featured giant trucks decked out in chrome and flashy lights.
Unable to drive the giant chrome-plated flashing trucks they coveted, children instead built plywood boxes around their bikes and attached chrome plating and lights. Almost all current Dekochari’s have elaborate light displays and many include hi-fi audio systems and cup-holders.
There are currently several Dekochari bike gangs in Japan, including the All Japan Hishyomaru fleet, the All Japan DC Club Ryumaki and the All Japan Kyokugenmaru Gang.

Punch a destination into re:route, a new app from eco-rewards company Recyclebank, and it will provide several options. You could walk to the subway, take it to your stop, pick up a bike from the bike share, and ride to your destination. You could get off the subway a stop early and walk. You could ride your own bike, or walk halfway and pick up a bike to get you the rest of the way there.

Whichever path you choose, you’re not using your car. As a reward for making that decision you’ll receive a reward at the end of each journey—5 Recyclebank points, which can be combined and exchanged for discounts on a slew of products.

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Enciclika is a collective of bike enthusiasts that see bicycles as means of transportation, as a lifestyle and as objects of quintessential design. Since its creation on September 2008, Enciclika has promoted – through the organization of events, competitions and parties – their use in the urban environment of bicycles, based on simplicity and low-maintenance such as fixed-gear and singlespeed bikes. These efforts go hand in hand with an attitude of revalorization of the classic bicycle for its aesthetical appeal, as an overall product and for its contribution to the history of industrial design.
Enciclikaʼs main communication channel to the general public until now has been the Corpus Fixie, one of the main points of reference in the Spanish-speaking fixed-gear community. On April 2010, a new outlet is released: the web portal www.enciclika.com. This new website intends to enhance the experience of the visitor through an innovative design, contents of unmatched quality – with self-produced photos and videos, and a sharp eye for the subtle details. Corpus Fixie will continue to broadcast what is happening in the fixed-gear world as well as urgent news in the local community, along with its partner channels on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

Our aim is to empower people in Africa by providing mobility through bicycles.