Date of Release: July 22, 2011 For Further Information Please Call:
Kathy Mogle, MS
Program Coordinator
435-3280
Practice Bicycle Safety Tips While Riding
With summer and warm weather here, Onondaga County Health Commissioner Cynthia B. Morrow, MD, MPH encourages Onondaga County residents to take safety measures while riding a bicycle. “Bicycle riding provides a great opportunity for increased physical activity and is an ideal way of commuting but it is important that safety steps are taken every time you ride a bicycle”. Morrow reminds children, teens, and adults to practice the following bicycle safety tips:
- It is a law in Onondaga County that youth between the ages of 1 -18 must wear a helmet while on a bicycle, skateboard, scooter, or in line skates. Wear a properly fitted helmet and wear it every ride. Wear a helmet that meets the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission standards.
- Wear neon and fluorescent colors. Wear special clothing made from reflective materials.
- Install bicycle reflectors on both the front and back of your bicycle. If a carrier is added, make sure the rear reflector is visible. Use bells, horns, or your voice to alert pedestrians and bicyclists that you are approaching or passing.
- Always ride with the traffic and obey traffic lights, signs, speed limits, and lane markings. Act like a driver of a vehicle.
- Yield to pedestrians and other vehicles, as appropriate.
- Check for traffic by looking left-right-left before entering a street. Use hand signals to indicate turning or stopping.
- Control your speed by using your breaks.
- Always ride with the flow of the traffic, on the right side of the road, and as far to the right of the road as practicable and safe.
- Never wear headphones or ear buds as they hinder your ability to hear traffic.
- Be aware of the traffic around you and ride defensively.
For more information about bicycle safety, www.nhtsa.gov or Safekids.org