Educator of the Year

The following story ran in my local Hanford Sentinel on July 10, 2007.

Bike Educator
By Shannon Milliken
smilliken@HanfordSentinel.com
Obey the law. That's the first rule of bicycling, according to League of American Bicyclists' "2006 Educator of the Year." He is an expert in bicycle safety.

Bruce Mackey, of Hanford, was chosen for the award for his numerous contributions to bicycle safety, including the training of more than 300 safety instructors while he was the Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Officer for the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety.

Mackey recently retired to Hanford to live near his parents. He attended Hanford Union High School and is, along with his father, a member of the school's hall of fame for his military service.

The award was given to Mackey on June 27, at the cyclist league's Education Leaders Conference in Austin.

Mackey said everyone thinks the best way to stay safe while cycling is to wear a helmet. But helmets come second to traffic laws. Mackey tells people that if they wouldn't do something while driving, they shouldn't do it on a bicycle.
"Cyclists fare best when they act like and are treated as drivers of vehicles," Mackey said, borrowing a quote from cycling transportation engineer and author John Forester.

In the seven years he worked at the Nevada office, Mackey initiated several programs. Safe Pedaling Across Nevada was one such program, through which Mackey and six others cycled across Nevada. They stopped at elementary schools each morning of the 400-mile treck to deliver a message about bicycle safety.

Mackey said he was offered the chief position at the Nevada office, but he declined it.

"No," Mackey said. " I want to be the bicycle guy."

The third most important rule of bicycle safety is to take a course, Mackey says.

Mackey and other instructors from the cyclist league teach a course titled "Road One," which covers the basic principles of safety for all ages of cyclists. Later this month, he will travel to San Luis Obispo to give law enforcement officers a lesson in bicycle safety.

The cyclist league has adopted a program that encourages and helps children to safely ride bicycles. The program, Safe Routes To School, is close to Mackey's heart. Children's lack of knowledge of traffic laws is often the cause of their traffic-related accidental deaths, Mackey said.

"When you talk to a parent who has had a child die in traffic, it makes an impression," Mackey said. "I would like to do what we can do about it now."

The Safe Routes program is centered around the "Five E's:" education, enforcement, encouragement, engineering and evaluation. Through these, Mackey hopes that children will learn to safely ride their bicycles to school. A child with good pedestrian and bicycling habits will become good motorists, Mackey said.

He also believes cycling gives children opportunities they wouldn't get riding in a car, including exercise and a sense of freedom.

As the son of a military man, Mackey moved around often and had to make friends all over again each time he moved. He spent one year of high school in Romulus, New York. He remembered riding his 10-speedthrough the town and meeting everyone that he rode past. He found cycling gave him a great advantage in making new friends.

Mackey put down his bicycle in college, while earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California at Berkeley. It wasn't until Mackey had entered the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, and he and his wife were expecting for the second time, that he picked it up again. His wife gave him a bicycle to help relieve his stress. His wife, Linda Mackey, said the school's postgraduate program was very intense.

"He rode that bike into the ground," Linda said. "Now he works to support his bicycle addiction."

Mackey served in the U.S. Army for 25 years, including combat tours in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Mackey said of his recent recogniton as "Educator of the Year" that he was humbled to be compared with those who had been awarded before him.

"When you get an award like this, you take a deep breath and say thanks a lot," Mackey said. "It makes it all worth it."

Linda attended the conference in Austin and the awards luncheon with her husband.

"It's well deserved," Linda said. "He worked very hard. I'm very proud of him."

Mackey hopes to soon teach safety courses in Hanford, but until then recommends the "ABC Quick Check" for local cyclists. It is a five-step process that Mackey still does before every bicycle ride. He checks the air in his tires, his brakes, his crank and chain, and his quick release. Finally, he takes the bicycle for a short ride to "check" everything over before he heads out.

The reporter can be reached at 582-0471, ext. 3047