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Community Corner

Make Bike Safety Fashionable

Who cares what the helmet looks like, just wear it.

Q: Can you address bike riding safety?

A: Spring has finally sprung and it’s time to get out your bike. Here is a look at safe cycling:

 Step 1: Choosing the Right Bike

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Make sure the bike is the right size for your child. Little kids definitely want to be big, but putting them on a big kid’s bike that’s too big, before they are really ready will only result in injuries. Many safety Web sites recommend sticking to a trike for the under-5 crowd.

To make sure the bike fits your child, have him stand over the bike with his feet firmly on the ground. There should be at least 1 to 2 inches between your child and the top bar. If your child cannot put his feet on the ground and can only stop by falling over, the bike is too big.

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The seat should be level from front to back. Adjust the seat height to allow a slight bend at the knee when the leg is fully extended to reach the pedals at the farthest point.

The handlebar height should be at the same level with the seat.

 Other things to consider: younger kids (through third grade) do better with coaster brakes. Their hands aren’t big enough and they’re not coordinated enough yet for hand brakes.

Younger kids don’t need fancy gears, either. They probably are not going to be biking up steep hills or making long trips.

Training wheels should be set so that the bike leans to get to them. You never want both training wheels to touch the ground at the same time. That means the back wheel isn’t getting as much traction as it should and the brake won’t work!

 Step 2: The Helmet

Helmets are NOT fashion accessories, but they can save your child’s life or help prevent a brain injury. Helmet use can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent and severe brain injury by 88 percent. (Source: Safe Kids USA Bicycling and Skating Safety Fact Sheet, www.safekids.org)

If you get flack from your kids, point out that it’s also the law in Connecticut that all children 15 years old or younger must wear a helmet when riding a bike (on the road).

Make sure your kids understand that they are mandatory and should be worn every time they ride a bike. Here’s a chance for you to be a good role model—make sure you wear your helmet, too!

But a helmet won’t be much help if it doesn’t fit properly.

There are many websites with information about helmets. I looked at A Buyer’s Guide to Bicycle Helmets from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (www.helmets.org) and Safe Kids USA (www.safekids.org), a nationwide network of organizations working to prevent unintentional childhood injury.

A good-fitting helmet sits level on your child’s head. There should be two fingers’ width between your child’s eyebrows and the helmet. The helmet should touch the head snugly all around (extra pads can be used to adjust this) without being too tight.

The Y straps should fit just underneath your child’s ears. Make sure the straps aren’t twisted and make them tight enough that the helmet does not move, but your child can open her mouth comfortably.

The helmet should not move more than about an inch in any direction, and must not pull off no matter how hard you try.

Safe Kids has a short video that reviews these basics: http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-resources-by-risk-area/bicycling-and-skating/helmet-fit-test-video.html.

 All helmets sold in the US meet the same safety standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). There will be a sticker inside the helmet. (You might also see ASTM's F1447 standard or Snell's B-95 standard.)

The good news is a more expensive helmet will not provide more protection so you can choose based on how well a helmet fits your child and which one your child likes.

Because they are sold for safety, helmets are relatively cheap ($15 to $35) and rarely go on sale.

When you pick up a helmet, look first for a CPSC sticker inside and a smooth, well-rounded shell with a bright color outside. Put it on, adjust the pads and straps, and then try hard to tear it off. Look for vents and sweat control.

Why smooth and well-rounded? Helmets are meant to slide across the ground in case of a fall, lessening the impact on your head. Points and funky shapes may snag.

Why a bright color? Help other bikers and motorists see you! The more visible you are, the safer. Don’t you hate it when a runner or biker appears out of nowhere (particularly around dusk) dressed in black from head to toe? Make yourself as easy to spot as possible.

But don’t wear your helmet in the playground! There have been cases of injury and even a death when the straps got snagged on playground equipment.

 

Step Three: Riding Safely

You should always supervise your young children when they’re on a bike. Under the age of 10 they really don’t have the mental maturity to make safe decisions when riding on a busy street and should stick to the sidewalk or your driveway.

Check your child’s outfit and don’t let them wear loose, long clothing that may get caught in the chain or spokes. Wear sneakers or other sturdy shoes. No flip flops!

 

When it’s dark, put the bike away.

Teach kids that they should always ride with the traffic. And to be careful: pay attention for cars turning into or out of driveways and roads. Stop at corners to look for cars and to make sure the drivers see you before crossing. Enter a street at a corner and not between parked cars.

Obey road signs. Kids’ peripheral vision is not as developed as adults’ and this can make it easier for them to miss things like stop signs. So teach your children to look for them.

And remember those hand signals! Left arm out and down with palm to the rear means you’re  stopping. Left or right arm straight out indicates a left or right turn, or the fancy old-school left arm out and bent down at a 90-degree angle for a right turn.

 

We’re lucky to have access to a great place for the whole family to ride: the rail trails!

 

Vernon’s Rails to Trails Park starts on the Manchester line, just south of Taylor Street and connects to the Hop River State Trail Park in Bolton. There is a parking lot on Church St. between Phoenix and Washington. You can also park at Sacred Heart Church.

 

But they are all over the state. Here are links to the map for Vernon (http://www.ct.gov/dot/LIB/dot/documents/dbikes/116.pdf) and to the DOT’s

index for the whole state: http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=3535&q=259678

The Vernon Junior Women’s Club and Vernon Police Department are holding Safety Town again this summer for children who will enter kindergarten in the fall. Bike safety is just one of the topics covered. Sessions will be held July 11through 15 and July 18 through 22 at Lake Street School. For more information, call Christine Brouillard at 860-604-1919.

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