Bike and Pedestrian Safety

Bike Safety

Riding a bike is a fun way for everyone to get some exercise and stay healthy. Yet, less than half of the children wear helmets. Properly fitted helmets can reduce the risk of head injuries by 45 percent.

Safety tips to prevent head injuries:

Always wear a properly fitted helmet. Make sure the helmet is the right size and the straps are fitted snugly. One finger should fit between the chin and chin strap. The helmet should be level on the head and not slide side to side or front to back. Click here to watch a video that demonstrates the safest way to wear a bike helment.
Ride on the sidewalk when you can. If not, ride in the same direction as traffic as far on the right-hand side as possible.
Use hand signals and follow the rules of the road. Be predictable by making sure you ride in a straight line and don’t swerve between cars.
Wear bright colors and use lights, especially when riding at night and in the morning. Reflectors on your clothes and bike will help you be seen.
Ride with your children. Stick together until you are comfortable that your kids are ready to ride on their own.

A bicycle is always high on a kids Wishlist. “We would much rather have kids outside playing than being in front of TVs, it’s good for them to stay active, however staying active we need to do it in a safe manor.” The department of transportation estimates that only 18% of bicyclists wear helmets. “Most of the time it seems like kids aren’t wearing helmets anymore,” said Trauma surgeon Dr. Zach Hothem.

Dr. Hothem has seen some of the devastating effects of these injuries firsthand. “It’s heartbreaking knowing it’s preventable, especially seeing a young child laying here not being responsive to their surroundings and knowing it could have all been prevented with wearing a helmet properly.”

Bicyclists 14 and under are at a 5 times greater risk for injury than older cyclists. “Cognitive problems, memory problems, attention problems, those are long term effects. Even if there’s no head bleeding in the brain, multiple concussions can cause major problems for kids,” said Dr. Hothem.

An NIH analysis found that wearing a bicycle helmet reduces head injury by 48%, serious head injury by 60%, traumatic brain injury by 53%, and face injury by 23%. It’s why Dr. Hothem preaches the importance of always wearing a helmet. “Make sure it’s secured properly, it’s tight fitting, it’s 1-2 finger above eyebrow and goes all the way back-to-back of head.” Because while broken bones heal, a brain injury can be a lifelong struggle. A simple click of the helmet can make all the difference.

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Ride Safe – Preventing Bicycle-related Injuries

Bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except automobiles. Universal bicycle helmet use by children ages 4 to 15 would prevent 39,000 to 45,000 head injuries and 18,000 to 55,000 scalp and face injuries each year.

A good fit is vital for a helmet to offer the best protection. Avoid buying an oversized helmet for your child to grow into it. When selecting a helmet, have your child try on the size you think will fit and one size smaller. Select the smallest size that fits comfortably. Learn all rules of the road and obey all traffic laws. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against traffic. Use appropriate hand signals when stopping and turning so others will know your intentions.

To have your child properly fitted for a bike helmet, call Safe Kids Southwest Florida at 239-343-5101 or e-mail julie.noble@leehealth.org.

Resources

Safe Kids Worldwide

Florida’s Pedestrian & Bicycling Safety Resource Center

Florida Bicycle Regulations F.S 316.2065

Pedestrian Safety

The Hard Facts

Unintentional pedestrian injuries are the fifth leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5 to 19. Teenagers are now at greatest risk. Teens have a death rate twice that of younger children and account for half of all child pedestrian deaths.

Top Tips:

Teach kids at an early age to look left, right and left again before crossing the street. Then remind them to continue looking until safely across.
Teach kids to put phones, headphones and devices down when crossing the street. It is particularly important to reinforce this message with teenagers.
It’s always best to walk on sidewalks or paths and cross at street corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
Children under 10 need to cross the street with an adult. Every child is different, but developmentally, most kids are unable to judge the speed and distance of oncoming cars until age 10.
Be a good role model. Set a good example

Walk Safe – Preventing Pedestrian-related Injuries

Approximately 630 children are killed every year while walking. Other than in the street, it is in driveways, parking lots and on sidewalks where children under 2 years of age suffer the highest number of injuries as pedestrians.

Policies that increase the number of people walking and bicycling appear to be effective methods of improving the safety of people walking and bicycling.

Laws and Regulations

In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law. The SAFETEA-LU includes the establishment of Safe Routes to School, a program with the goal of making it safer for children to walk or bike to school. The Safe Routes to School program aims to:

Fix or improve sidewalks
Execute traffic calming and speed reduction measures
Improve pedestrian and bicycle crossings
Conduct public education campaigns to encourage walking and biking to school.

State and local laws created to protect child pedestrians include:

Lower speed limits in residential areas
Protection of pedestrians in crosswalks
Providing pedestrian walkways
Prohibition of vehicles from passing school buses while loading and unloading passengers
Providing crossing guards and requiring pedestrians to not cross streets at locations other than designated crosswalks

Getting to School Safely

Here are smart tips on how to get children to and from school safely, whether they walk, ride the bus, carpool or bike.

For more general information about kids safety visit: safekids.org