Bicycle Safety Tips for Kids

Summer season marks peak bicycling season for children. It also means a higher risk of accidents involving your children when they’re bicycling outside. Make sure that your child is properly equipped for riding outside in the summer.

Teach your child the rules of safe bicycling. Make sure that your child is always wearing a properly fitted bicycle helmet, while riding. A bicycle helmet must be well-fitting, and must not be either too tight or too big. If it is too tight, it may prevent the child from wearing the helmet. If it is too loose, it will not do a good job of protecting the skull during impact in an accident.

Make sure that your child’s bicycle also fits properly. When your child stands over the bicycle straddling it, there should be at least a 2-inch gap between him and the top tube.

It’s important for children to be seen when they are riding, and that can’t be done when there is poor visibility. Don’t allow your child to ride outside at night. Avoid white clothing while riding outside. Wearing white doesn’t make you more visible. Make your child wear brightly-colored fluorescent clothes instead.

Teach your child to look out for hazards on the road. There could be debris on the road, puddles, and potholes, and all of these pose a potential accident threat. Also, look out for dogs that may be playing close by. It’s always best to ride in groups- a group of children riding together is much harder to miss.

If your child was injured in a bicycle accident, contact a California bicycle accident lawyer.