In the Spotlight

Child Safety When Traveling In A Car Or Riding A Bicycle

• The back seat is the safest place for children of any age to ride.
• Infants in rear-facing child safety seats should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger air bag.
• Infants must always ride facing the rear of the car.
• Make sure everyone is buckled up. Unbuckled occupants can be hurt or killed by an air bag.

Be sure to also check the child safety seat laws in your state.

One-Minute Child Safety Seat Checkup Using a child safety seat correctly makes a big difference. To make your child safe as possible, take a minute to check that you are using it correctly. Do you have the instructions? Follow them and keep them with your seat for use as your child grows older. Use your vehicle owners manual for instructions on fastening the seat securely Is your child facing the right way for both his/her height and age? If you use a seat made only for infants (A), always face it backward. Children up to at least 20 pounds and age one should ride facing the back of the car (B). A child over age one faces forward (C). If you have a passenger air bag, does your infant ride in the back seat? The impact of an air bag can seriously injure or kill a child riding in front in a rear-facing safety seat. Carry your baby in the back, facing the rear. Is the vehicle safety belt in the right place and pulled tight? The seat belt must go in the correct, marked path to hold the child safety seat in place. A convertible seat faces backward for an infant and forward for a toddler (B and C). It has a different belt path for each direction. Is the harness snug? Does it stay on the childs shoulders? Shoulder straps go in the lowest slots for babies riding backwards and in the top slots for children facing forward. The retainer clip at armpit level (C) holds harness straps on the shoulders. Does your child use a booster seat if he/she is close to 40 pounds and has outgrown a convertible seat? A booster seat helps the seat belt protect your child until he/she grows big enough to fit in the seat belt alone. A booster seat with no shield is used only with a lap and shoulder belt (D). Use a booster with a shield (E) if your car has only lap belts.

Bicycle Safety

More than one-third of all deaths related to bicycle injury occur among children age 5 to 20, with head injuries being the most common cause of death for bicyclists. Wearing helmets while bicycling can reduce the number of injuries and deaths. Most bicycle crashes involving motor vehicles are due to behavioral errors on the part of the bicyclist and the motorist.

How to help stop fatalities and injuries

• Insist that your child wear a helmet every time he/she rides a bicycle. Replace the helmet if it has been damaged. Bicycle helmets are the best protection against mishaps that cause death or injury.
• Let your child choose a helmet. Make sure it has a sticker indicating that it meets Snell Memorial Foundation or American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards.
• Instruct your child on the correct way to wear a helmet. Make sure it fits snugly and covers the forehead. Notice when your child wears a helmet correctly and praise him/her
• Set a good example. Wear a helmet yourself.
• Check your child's bicycle for correct fit, properly working parts, and reflectors.
• Teach your child to look left-right-left before entering the roadway or intersection.
• Avoid allowing your child to ride at night, as drivers often miss seeing cyclists.
• Never let a child ride a bicycle while listening to audio headphones.
• Stress the need to ride defensively since many drivers do not see bicyclists.
• Bicyclists should ride single file on the right side of the road -just like cars -and signal their intentions to other road users
• Check with driver licensing agencies and highway departments for booklets that explain bicycle safety rules. Enroll your child in a bicycle safety education program if one is available in your community.

Common types of collisions

The following chart illustrations common types of bicycle and motor vehicle accidents and what you can do to prevent them.

What Happens What It Looks Like What to Do

Bicyclist Comes From Alley or Driveway Often called "midblock rideout," this is the most frequent crash type for young riders and occurs soon after the bicyclist enters the roadway from a driveway, alley, or curb without slowing, stopping, or looking for traffic. The bicyclist's sudden entry leaves the motorist too little time to avoid a collision. Always stop and look. Look left-right-left for traffic before entering a roadway.

Riding the Wrong Way Motorists do not expect traffic to be approaching from the wrong direction. This creates a situation for a crash, which is the main reason why it is unlawful to ride facing traffic. Go with the flow. Always ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, just like cars do. It's the law.

Motorist Overtaking Bicyclist This type of crash occurs because the motorist fails to see and react to the bicyclist until it is too late. This type is more frequent at night, on narrow rural roads and often involves driver inattention and/or impaired driving. Avoid riding at night. Avoid dark conditions, narrow roads, and roads with highway speeds over 35 mph. Use reflectors, lights, and special clothing if you must ride at night.

Bicyclist Makes Left Turn or Suddenly Swerves The bicyclist swerves to the left without checking traffic or without signaling and moves into the path of an overtaking vehicle. The motorist does not have time to avoid a collision. Be predictable. Always ride in a straight line. When preparing to change your lane position, look behind you and yield to overtaking traffic. When making a turn, use the proper hand signal.

Failure to Obey Stop Signs Also called "stop sign rideout," this crash occurs when the bicyclist enters an intersection that is controlled by a traffic signal and collides with a motor vehicle approaching from an uncontrolled lane. The bicyclist fails to stop or slow before entering the intersection. This dangerous action does not give the motorist enough time to avoid a collision. Obey all traffic signals and signs. Watch for traffic signals. Walk your bicycle across busy intersections.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).