Driveways
Running Stop Signs
Turning Without Warning
After Dark
Follow the Leader

The majority of bicycle injuries do not involve motor vehicles. Most are falls, collisions with stationary objects, and collisions with other bikes or pedestrians result from the bicyclist losing control, and most occur less than five blocks from home, in familiar surroundings.

But the most serious incidents - including over 90 %t of cyclist deaths - involve motor vehicles. In 70 % of the collisions, the cyclist is at fault, either by violating a law or by poor road sense. Teach your children as if their life depended on the lessons. It does.
Following are some of the most common causes of bicycle injuries:

Driveways

A youngster rides out of the driveway and gets hit by a car. Very often these incidents involve younger children: the median age is less than 10.

Does your driveway present obstructions to the view of passing motorists, such as bushes or trees? If so, trim them back. Most importantly, teach your child about driveway safety.

Go outside to the driveway and have him or her practice the following steps:
• Stop before entering the street.
• Scan left, then right for traffic.
• If there's no traffic, proceed into the roadway.

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Running Stop Signs

Most cyclists who get hit riding through stop signs know that they are supposed to stop. They just don't see why, or they get distracted. Impress on your child that, while he or she may not get hit every time, running stop signs is very dangerous. Take your child to a stop sign and explain what it means, emphasizing the following:
• Stop at all stop signs regardless of what is happening.
• Scan both directions for traffic.
• Wait for any cross traffic to clear.
• Proceed when safe.

Above all, practice what you preach!

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Turning Without Warning

These collisions occur because the bicyclist makes an unexpected left turn without scanning behind for traffic or signaling.

Teach your children to walk their bikes across busy streets, at least until they have some advanced training and are old enough to understand traffic. In the meantime, for residential street riding, you can teach them to always scan and signal before turning left. Go to a playground to practice riding along a straight paint line while scanning behind. Stand alongside and hold up two fingers on your hand after the child rides by. Call their name. After 10 or 15 minutes of practice a 10 year old should be able to look behind and identify how many fingers you are holding up, all without swerving.

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After Dark

Most crashes in which a car coming up from the rear hits a bike while overtaking happen at night. These overtaking injuries can be serious. Most, however, involve older cyclists; the median age is about 20.

Rule out night riding for your youngster. It requires special skills and equipment. Few kids have either. Make your child understand that, if he or she gets caught out after dark on a bike, the only thing to do is to call you for a ride home. Maybe you could tape telephone money to the bike so that, in an emergency, your child can call.

For adults and teenagers, the first requirement is to be visible – use bright lights and reflectors, and wear light-colored clothes with reflective tape. The second requirement is to watch your shadow in the headlights of overtaking cars. If your shadow moves to the right as the car approaches from the rear, this means it is moving left to pass you. If your shadow stays right in front of you, it means the car is headed straight for you. Get out of the way!

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Following the Leader

Many car/bike collisions take place when children are following each other. The first one may run a stop sign and get through. The second one may get hit.

Teach your child always to assess the traffic situation for him or herself. When a group is riding around, each cyclist should stop for stop signs. Each one should scan to the rear before making left turns.

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