How to Keep Kids Safe While Cycling
Children and teens ride bicycles a lot and it’s a wonderful activity for this age group. More than half of kids 14 or younger are cycling — fantastic! Getting a tricycle, taking the training wheels off, and starting to bike is a rite of passage for many kids. Among teens too young to drive, cycling is a way to be independent and get to school or a friend’s house.
This is great for many reasons. Family cycling outings can be fun for the whole family and teach kids good habits on the road. For teens, sing a bicycle can be a great way to get exercise, socialize, and practice independence. These are all important for a child’s mental health. But hopping on a bicycle isn’t a risk-free activity.
Kids are injured while cycling more often than any other group
Unfortunately, children and adolescents make up over 50-percent of bicycle-related injuries and 24 percent of all deaths. The fact that kids are less experienced on a bicycle, cycle more often, and take fewer safety precautions than adult riders are a deadly combination. In 2020, the total cost of fatal and non-fatal cycling related injuries in American children was almost $13 billion dollars.
One study published in the Journal of Injury Prevention found that 10,700 children were hospitalized for a bicycle accident over the course of one year. The vast majority of patients were male and over 94-percent lived in an urban area. Thirty-percent of these accidents were caused by a motor vehicle. Attorney Matt Scarborough has represented several families whose children were hit by uninsured motorists and recommends everyone get uninsured motorist coverage policies on their auto insurance plans which will cover kids (and adults) who are hit while cycling by uninsured drivers.
Half of all bike accidents for kids take place within a mile of their homes. Sadly, many people still live in areas with poor bicycle infrastructure. Unsafe intersections, a lack of bike lanes, and poor street lights can all make it more likely that kids get hit by cars while cycling, which can easily lead to injury or death.
Bike Helmets make a big difference
Despite the fact that wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of a head or brain injury by as much as 88-percent, older children and young teens still aren’t wearing them. Florida and Oregon are two of the 22 states that require riders—usually under 18—to wear a bike helmet. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that these bike laws have helped reduce bike-related fatalities by 19-percent.
But kids still aren’t wearing helmets. Children between 12 and 14-years-old are the least likely to wear them (possibly because they’re old enough to ride without parental supervision). Some kids may not have helmets to wear. One study found that after passing a law requiring kids to wear helmets, use increased overall but less so in low-income areas.
Teach kids to follow rules of the road while biking
While many parents are there to teach their kids how physically to ride a bicycle, there’s less time spent on how to be a safe rider. Wearing a helmet that’s properly fitted is a must. Additionally, riders will be safer if they have a bicycle that fits them properly—hard with a growing child but important since a too-large or too-small bicycle can be hard to maneuver.
Kids should know to practice defensive riding and be alert to their surroundings. It’s also important that they learn hand signals for turning and be confident enough riders to use them (in other words, kids should be able to ride one handed for brief amounts of time.) Kids should wear bike-safe clothing that won’t get potentially caught in the gears. Tucking your pants into your socks may look dorky but can prevent an accident.
Additional safety rules all children should know and follow:
Always ride with the flow of traffic.
Never ride with headphones on and music playing.
Don’t text and bike.
Use reflectors and lights when riding in low light or at night.
Follow all traffic signs, including stop lights and yield signs.
Children under 10 can and should ride on sidewalks when there is no bike lane. (Even places that don’t allow riding on sidewalks often have exemptions for children.)
If an intersection seems too busy, get off the bicycle and walk it across the street.
Look both ways before crossing an intersection.
Watch out for parked cars: doors can open unexpectedly.
Hopefully following these tips will be enough to keep kids safe and avoid an expensive trip to the emergency room or hospital.
If your child is injured while riding a bicycle, reach out to Matt Scarborough at Bicycle Accident Law for more information.