May is Bike Month: Learn About Bike Helmet Safety

From guest writer Margaret Beltrami:

If you didn’t know, May is National Bike Month. This month for National Bike Month, I will be writing blog posts weekly on issues about general bike and bike helmet safety, as part of my Gold Award. A Gold Award is the highest achieving award a Girl Scout can receive by creating lasting impact and change in her community. I am very passionate about bike helmet safety and thought it would be perfect for my Gold Award!

As I mentioned, May is National Bike Month. It was established in 1956 by the League of American Bicyclists to encourage more people to bike and showcase the many benefits of biking. The League of American Bicyclists still works to create a bike-safe America by creating strong communities and safer roads today. Here is the link to their website if you would like to learn more: https://bikeleague.org/bikemonth

Bike helmet safety is a huge issue, especially here in the United States. Research shows that almost 3/4 of fatal bike crashes involved a head injury, which shows how important it is to wear a bike helmet (helmets.org). Did you know that in the US 88% of children and 78% of adults who suffered a head of neck injury while biking were not wearing a helmet? (consumerreports.org). Also, there are more than 80,000 bike-related head injuries each year in the US (ncs.org). All of these statistics are shared just to highlight the importance and severity of the issue. 

Bike helmet safety is not just an issue in the United States, it is an issue all over the world. For example, bike helmet safety is especially a problem in the United Kingdom. Currently there are no laws about bike helmet use. And in 2018, the United Kingdom Department for Transport stated that around 4,000 cyclists were killed or seriously injured. 

So what can be done? As I mentioned, these statistics are not meant to scare you, they are just meant to bring awareness to the issue. Bike helmet safety is a problem all over the globe, but there is hope. There are many organizations that work towards the issue of bike helmet safety. One of these organizations is called Children’s Helmet Initiative, and they work to stop preventable brain injury by trying to ensure that every child who needs a helmet can receive one. Their website (stopbraininjurynow.org) also has a lot of great resources and information. 

And that’s all for this week’s post! Stay tuned for the second blog post which will be uploaded next week and is all about helmets!

Children and Bicycle Safety

Bicycle riding is fun, healthy, and a great way to be independent. It is important to remember that a bicycle is not a toy; it’s a vehicle!

Safe Riding Tips from one.nhtsa.gov:

Before using your bicycle, make sure it is ready to ride. You should always
inspect your bike to make sure all parts are secure and working properly.


Remember to:
Wear a Properly Fitted Bicycle Helmet. Protect your brain, save your life. For more information see the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publication “Easy Steps to Properly Fit a Bicycle Helmet.”
Adjust Your Bicycle to Fit. Stand over your bicycle. There should be 1 to 2 inches between you and the top tube (bar) if using a road bike and 3 to 4 inches if a mountain bicycle. The seat should be level front to back. The seat height should be adjusted to allow a slight bend at the knee when the leg is fully extended. The handlebar height should be at the same level with the seat.

Check Your Equipment. Before riding, inflate tires properly and check that your brakes work.

See and Be Seen. Whether daytime, dawn, dusk, foul weather, or at night, you need to be seen by others. Wearing white has not been shown to make you more visible. Rather, always wear neon, fluorescent, or other
bright colors when riding day or night. Also wear something that reflects light, such as reflective tape or markings, or flashing lights. Remember, just because you can see a driver doesn’t mean the driver can see you.

Control Your Bicycle. Always ride with at least one hand on the handlebars. Carry books and other items in a bicycle carrier or backpack.

Watch for and Avoid Road Hazards. Be on the lookout for hazards such as potholes, broken glass, gravel, puddles, leaves, and dogs. All these hazards can cause a crash. If you are riding with friends and you are in the lead, yell out and point to the hazard to alert the riders behind you.

Avoid Riding at Night. It is far more dangerous to ride at night than during the day because you are harder for others to see. If you have to ride at night, wear something that makes you more easily seen by others. Make sure you have reflectors on the front and rear of your bicycle (white lights on the front and red rear reflectors are required by law in many States), in addition to reflectors on your tires, so others can see you.

For more information on bicycle safety, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Many bicycle-related crashes resulting in injury or death are associated with the bicyclist’s behavior, including suchthings as not wearing a bicycle helmet, riding into a street without stopping, turning left or swerving into traffic that is coming from behind, running a stop sign, and riding the wrong way in traffic. To maximize your safety, always wear a helmet AND follow the rules of the road.

Bike Helmet Safety – You Make the Call

Take a few minutes to watch this bicycle helmet safety video with your children. The video was created as a collaborative effort of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Injury Prevention Network and features Baltimore children.

Riding Your Bicycle Safely

A good bike safety video to share with your children to keep them safe. Enjoy!

Staying Safe on your Bicycle

1st-place-poster
Artwork by Beatrice Prinkey, winner of the 2017 SRTS Bike Safety Poster Contest

The League of American Bicyclists five Rules of the Road prepare you for a safe and fun bicycling no matter where you’re riding.

FOLLOW THE LAW

Your safety and image of bicyclists depend on you. You have the same rights and responsibilities as drivers. Obey traffic signals and stop signs. Ride with traffic; use the rightmost lane headed in the direction you are going.

BE PREDICTABLE 

Make your intentions clear to everyone on the road. Ride in a straight line and don’t swerve between parked cars. Signal turns, and check behind you well before turning or changing lanes.

BE CONSPICUOUS

Ride where people can see you and wear bright clothing. Use a front white light, red rear light and reflectors when visibility is poor. Make eye contact with others and don’t ride on sidewalks.

THINK AHEAD

Anticipate what drivers, pedestrians, and other people on bikes will do next. Watch for turning vehicles and ride outside the door zone of parked cars. Look out for debris, potholes, and other road hazards. Cross railroad tracks at right angles.

RIDE READY

Check that your tires are sufficiently inflated, brakes are working, chain runs smoothly, and quick release levers are closed. Carry tools and supplies that are appropriate for your ride. Wear a helmet.

Sharing the Trail

Since the path can be congested it’s important to follow the same rules as everyone else in order to have a safe and enjoyable time.

•    Be courteous
•    Know the rules of the trail you are using
•    Give a clear signal when passing
•    Be cautious and yield to crossing traffic
•    Always be predictable by riding in a straight line
•    If you are riding while it is dark, be sure to use lights
•    Only use half the width of the trail
•    Keep it clean

Watch more videos at http://www.bikeleague.org.

Bicycle Safety Tips

bicyclistsafechoices

Riding on the Sidewalk

When you are riding on the sidewalk, you also have to deal with many hazards: pedestrians, street furniture, signs, newspaper boxes, etc… These items don’t just make riding inconvenient; they also can make you invisible to drivers.

The fact is, a lot of crashes happen when someone on a bike is using the sidewalk. For more information on bicycle safety and resources, visit The League of American Bicyclists. 

Safety in Bike Lanes

From the League of American Bicyclists:

A bike lane is a striped and signed lane that provides a dedicated space on the road for people on bikes. They should be used the same as any other travel lane, so follow the same rules of the road.

Things to look out for:
•    Parked cars.  Be sure you ride far enough over to stay clear of an opening car door
•    Vehicles that are turning right without a signal

Even if your community has a law that says you have to ride in a bike lane, there are exceptions:
•    Making a left turn
•    Passing another bicyclist
•    Going around hazards

As with any other lane changes, be sure to first scan, signal and yield.

 

Bicycle Registration Today in Oakhurst!

IMG_9452The Decatur Police Department will be registering bicycles in front of Oakhurst Market (650 East Lake Drive, Decatur, GA 30030) this Friday, August 14, 2015 from 5pm-7pm.

Bicycles are a commonly stolen item and are not registered like vehicles. Bicycle registration includes providing owner contact information, having the manufacturer and serial number documented and having a numbered decal applied to and a photo taken of your bicycle.  The process takes just a few minutes.  Registering your bicycle allows officers to look up recovered bicycles and contact the owner and allows for us to quickly look up the needed information about your bicycle if it were to be stolen.  The information is kept in a secured database only accessible by police department staff.  We will also register scooters that do not meet the size requirements for state tag registration.

*There is NO CHARGE to register your bicycle or scooter.