FamilyCares Bike Rodeo Bike Safety Tip Flyer
Your Bike Rodeo is an opportune time to review safety tips. The good news is according to Safe Kids Worldwide statistics, bicycle injury death rates among children ages 14 and under declined 70 percent from 1987 to 2002. The not so good news is 285,600 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle – related injuries in 2003. Among children ages 14 and under, more than 80 percent of fatal bicycle-related crashes are associated with the bicyclist's behavior such as running a stop sign or riding into a street without stopping.
FamilyCares Bike Rodeo Bike Safety Tips
- Make sure the bike is the right size for the child. There should be 2-4 inches of clearance between the bike frame and the child's groin when the child's feet are flat on the ground.
- Make sure the bike is in good repair — reflectors are secure, brakes work properly, gears shift smoothly, and tires are tightly secured and properly inflated.
- Wear a bicycle helmet always and wear it for biking only. Kids should not wear bike helmets on the playground where the straps can get caught on equipment and cause injury or for activities that require specialized helmets such as skiing or football .
- Young riders should:
• Ride on sidewalks or safe areas only
• Should never ride at dusk or at night
• When entering a sidewalk, path or driveway, stop completely. Look left, right and left again
• Walk, don't ride your bicycle across the street
• Cross only at the street corner, not mid-block.
- Pre-teens and teens should learn the rules of the road before they take to the streets. For additional safety tips see Bike Miami Valley at http://www.bikemiamivalley.org/safety1.htm
- Teens and adults should:
• Obey all traffic signals and laws
• Ride with the traffic flow, not against it
• Always stop at stop signs and stop lights
Safe Kids Worldwide at www.safekids.org
National Fire Prevention Association http://www.nfpa.org/riskwatch/parent_bike.html
