Prevent a Child Bike Accident with Child Cycling Safety Tips
Most children love to ride bikes but parents must understand that a child bike accident can mean serious injuries. The best way to protect our children is by teaching them child cycling safety through best cycling practices.
If your child was injured in a bike accident through the reckless or negligent behavior of a driver, please contact a bike accident lawyer as soon as possible. You may be able to recover damages for medical bills, pain and suffering and more.
Child bike accident statistics
A study published on safekids.org found the following statistics on child bike accident fatalities:
- In 2013, 98 children under the age of 19 died from biking-related injuries.
- There has been a trend in the reduction of child bike-related deaths per year with a 62 percent drop since 1999 and a 17 percent decrease between 2013 and 2014.
- More than 50 percent of all children under the age of 19 who were killed in bicycle-related accidents in 2014 were 15 to 19 years of age, and 88 percent were boys.
Statistics on child bike injuries:
- In 2014, 242,931 children under the age of 19 went to the emergency room to seek treatment for injuries related to riding bikes.
- Every year, 26,000 children are admitted to emergency departments for traumatic brain injury caused by riding a bike.
Top child cycling safety tips
A properly fitted helmet is the number one way to prevent a head injury while cycling. In fact, a well-fitting helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries by at least 45 percent but tragically, less than half of children 14 and under usually wear a bike helmet.
If possible, your child should ride on the sidewalk. If that’s not an option, your child should ride in the same direction as traffic as far on the right-hand side as possible.
Teach your children hand signals and to follow the rules of the road.
Teach your children to behave in a way that drivers would expect; this means riding in a straight line, not swerving between cars and not entering the roadway in unpredictable ways such as from a crosswalk.
Insist that your children wear bright colors and use lights and reflectors when riding in dim light or darkness.
Ride alongside your children until you are confident that they can handle the responsibility of bike riding on their own.
Many child cycling accidents could be prevented if the child behaved in a more predictable way; more than 1/3 of child bike accidents occur when a child enters the roadway from the sidewalk or crosswalk and many more happen when a child loses control of their bicycle because they are doing a trick or riding too fast. The bottom line is that motor vehicles are bigger than bikes so when an accident happens between a bike and a car or truck, the cyclist is much more likely to be injured than the driver. In fact, in 74 percent of reported bike vs. motor vehicle accidents the cyclist is injured or killed.
If you or a loved one is dealing with an accident or injury through no fault of your own, you have enough on your plate. Let an experienced accident attorney fight for the full compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times bigger with the help of a lawyer. Call the caring accident attorneys at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
