Bike Safety
By: Gretchen Bolander
Updated: June 3, 2010
Nearly 100 children 15 and under died from biking accidents in 2008. Another 13,000 were injured. Chris Hoag-Apel is the trauma supervisor at Freeman Health System. She says you can make a big difference by taking safety precautions, like a properly fitted helmet. "It should be a bike helmet. They're constructed differently than a baseball or football helmet. There's a layer of foam that shatters on impact but protects."
Also consider elbow and knee pads. Make sure there isn't any loose clothing that could catch in the wheel or chain. Added Hoag-Apel, "The bike should fit the rider. You shouldn't buy a bike they're going to row into. Where they can straddle it and hit the ground or when they're on it - the pedal in the low position their leg is straight."
And make sure to teach them traffic rules, like how to signal for a right hand turn. "They dart out from driveways. Children don't understand traffic situations. They think because they can see the car, the car can see them," said Hoag-Apel. Common injuries include damage to the spleen or liver, broken arms and legs and even brain injury.
Also consider elbow and knee pads. Make sure there isn't any loose clothing that could catch in the wheel or chain. Added Hoag-Apel, "The bike should fit the rider. You shouldn't buy a bike they're going to row into. Where they can straddle it and hit the ground or when they're on it - the pedal in the low position their leg is straight."
And make sure to teach them traffic rules, like how to signal for a right hand turn. "They dart out from driveways. Children don't understand traffic situations. They think because they can see the car, the car can see them," said Hoag-Apel. Common injuries include damage to the spleen or liver, broken arms and legs and even brain injury.
