Believe it or not, American school children were once taught how to negotiate traffic on their bikes in elementary school, too. Though it wasn't as comprehensive as the Dutch program, I can remember being taught bike safety in my elementary school in the 1970's. It included discussion of traffic laws and identifying potential hazards, a couple of films, and a final test administered on the playground by local police officers. The police officers even registered our bikes while they were there. At the school where I currently teach, we had a "bike rodeo" last spring, where we did much the same thing, but it was all at once and after school, and a bit rushed; given the recent emphasis on testing, there is no way we have the luxury to teach about bike safety during the school day. And, to be honest, very few kids, maybe 10, actually ride their bikes to school. Some kids who live less than eight blocks away will actually wait up to 30 minutes for a parent to pick them up, no kidding...