Small Non-Profit Makes Significant Advances in Bicyclist & Motorist Safety

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Adam Little Foundation, named after a member of the North Carolina cycling community who was killed by a motorist in 2010 as he commuted to work, is working hard to make our roads safer, not only for bicyclists but also for motorists.

The Foundation developed a “Share the Road” curriculum and class presentation for driver education programs that was endorsed and released by the national driver education organization, ADTSEA, last November; they are now working to get the curriculum officially adopted into the driver education program in North Carolina.

Approximately 1000 bicyclists are killed each year in the United States as a result of motor vehicle collisions; thousands more are seriously injured every year. The Foundation believes that motorist education is the key to reducing the number of cyclist deaths and injuries, starting with new drivers and driver education. They also believe in using billboards to convey simple but important messages to motorists - BE PATIENT DRIVING BEHIND CYCLISTS, PASS ONLY WHEN IT IS SAFE, and BICYCLES ARE VEHICLES - and simply to make motorists aware that bicyclists are on the road and have a right to be there. Last year, through donations and donated board space, the group was able to get 60 billboards up; they’re hoping to have 200 billboards up in North and South Carolina in 2013.

The Foundation next wants to develop simulation software to train and test new drivers on their knowledge of the rules of the road as they apply to cyclists, and their ability to apply those rules and truly “share the road” in a simulated but real-life setting. The group has selected APlusBSoftware to develop the software but must raise $25,000 to fully develop it and another $10,000 to pilot the program in North Carolina DMV offices. The software may be run on a dedicated desktop PC with inexpensive foot and pedal attachments. The Foundation relies entirely on donations and no one associated with the organization is compensated for their efforts. To learn more about the Foundation or to make a tax-deductable donation to erect a billboard or fund development of the simulation software, please visit them at http://www.theadamlittlefoundation.org. The Foundation is a registered non-profit and currently awaiting 501(c)(3) designation by the IRS.