The Adam Little Foundation

The Adam Little Foundation was founded in memory of Adam Little, a cyclist from Mt. Pleasant, NC who was struck and killed by a distracted driver as he commuted to work. Adam was just 34 years of age when he was killed; he was a husband, brother, son, Father of two, teacher, friend and teammate. It is our mission to:

* Increase the safety of all bicyclists in North Carolina and across the United States
* Make bicycling safer in NC and across the US, in order that it can be enjoyed by more people
* Make motorists more aware that there are bicyclists on the road too (Public Service Announcements, billboards, informational flyers)
* Make motorists aware that bicyclists have the same rights as any motor vehicle on the road
* Use Public Service Announcements to increase public awareness of bicyclists and the rules of the road
* Work with NCDPI to incorporate the ADTSEA-reviewed and approved "Share the Road" curriculum we developed into the NC driver's ed program; to view or download our curriculum and class presentation, please visit the ADTSEA website (http://www.adtsea.org/adtsea) where it has been released and posted. UPDATE: We presented the curriculum and class presentation to the NCDTSEA at their November 2012 meeting and received their endorsement; we made a brief presentation to the NC Drivers Ed Advisory Committee when they convened on May 21, 2013 and we've been invited to make a full presentation at a later meeting at which they will determine whether they will endorse or not. If we receive their endorsment, our final step is to present to the State Board of Education. If we receive the SBE's approval, our "Share the Road" curriculum will be taught in all NC drivers ed classes. In addition, we are presenting this curriculum and class presentation at ADTSEA's annual meeting on July 14th; at that time, we're making a request to ADTSEA to release our curriculum as part of the national curriculum when the next update is released. I encourage anyone interested to write to ADTSEA to show your support for this.
* Work with DOT to implement a state-wide aggressive motorist database
* Develop simulator software that will teach and test new drivers on their knowledge of the rules of the road, as they apply to cyclists, and on their ability to "share the road" with cyclists. Our goal is to eventually make this a component of the road test and a requirement for licensure
* Work with DMV to retest motorists on Hand Signals at the time of license renewal (in conjunction with retesting on road signage)

According to NCDOT, a bicyclist is struck by a motorist in NC every six hours. In addition, according to the 2012 Benchmarking Report of the Alliance for Biking & Walking, North Carolina ranks 44th out of the 50 states in terms of cycling/pedestrian safety (as determined by the number of annual fatalities). These are appalling statistics and simply must change. If you're interested in partnering with us or volunteering, which could be to make annoucements at races, post signs, hand out flyers and decals, collect donations, or any number of things, please contact us by emailing theadamlittlefoundation@yahoo.com.

Click here to view the Bobby Labonte PSA

Click here to view our first PSA

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Our first PSA is finished (click on link above) and has been sent to numerous networks throughout North Carolina for airing. Stations will air the PSA at no cost during "off" hours but we are trying to collect donations in order to air these PSAs during peak times.

SECOND PSA FEATURING BOBBY LABONTE COMPLETED: (click on link above) We are grateful to Mr. Labonte for taking time out of his very busy schedule to do this. This PSA will begin airing in May for National Bicycle Month. We expect much more air time given that this PSA is a shorter 30-sec spot but need to raise more funds to purchase airtime. Even $5 helps because if everyone gave just $5, it would add up to a significant amount.

HAND SIGNALS POSTER: Our poster is hanging in all DMV offices across North Carolina (~266); they are posted in the waiting area and hopefully a few motorists will take a look. Given that the NC Driver's Handbook no longer includes images of the universal hand signals (only descriptions thereof), we hope that motorists will become more familiar with the hand signals, including the variations used by cyclists. In addition, another version of this poster is now appearing on all DMV message boards (see last page of website for an image).

Click here to download our Hand Signals Poster