With the new school year just around the corner, children in East are gearing up to ride their bikes to and from school. To keep kids – and bikes – safe, School Liaison Officer Dave Hollis offers the following tips:
* Inspect your child’s bike, paying close attention to the brakes, wheel alignment, seat, handlebars, pedals, tires, axle nuts and bearings and chain, and replace, tighten or adjust bike components to ensure a safe ride – or take it to a bike shop for a safety inspection and repairs
* Insist that your child wears a helmet at all times while riding a bike – head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle accidents
Help your child identify the safest route to school, avoiding busy streets when possible, always observing stop signs, yield signs and other traffic markers – even if no vehicles are visible – and using extra caution when passing driveways and entrances to parking lots
* Teach your child proper hand signals
Left turn: Left hand and arm held straight out pointing left
Right turn: Left hand and arm held straight up or right arm held straight out pointing right
Stop: Left hand and arm held straight down
* Talk with your child about basic road safety, including riding with traffic and on the right side of the road, riding with someone else if possible and always riding single file, and never riding with a passenger or on the handlebars of someone else’s bike
* Insist that your child always locks his or her bike at school and other public places – and register the bike with your local police department, which allows police to identify the bike if it’s stolen and recovered and return it to your child
Officer Hollis shared these safety tips on WZZM's "Take Five & Company." Watch the segment. He'll talk about bike safety again Friday morning on Fox17's "Morning Mix." Tune in at 9 a.m.
If you drive your child to school, please allow plenty of time to navigate the traffic around each school and pay special attention to traffic signs, signals and other drivers. Crossing guards are stationed in several locations – often with student assistants – to assist students in crossing the streets during peak times. Please comply with their signals as they work to keep our students safe.