Safety issues for children on bikes in the winter

Riding a bicycle is an entertaining sport. Every child has a dream to learn how to ride a bike. Most of the kids start with a small bike with three wheels and when they grow up and already know how to ride, they get bigger ones. It is very important for children to know how to use their bikes in order to prevent injuries. Especially in the winter, they must be very careful while riding because the ground is snowy and the weather is cold.

All the children must follow the instructions given by their parents. There are some rules that must be explained to the kids. Children must move as close as possible to the right border of the traffic lane. Here is a list of the things that the kids must not do while riding their bike: to move along with another bike; to ride the bike without holding the handles and without using the pedals, that control the bike; to ride closely to another vehicle or to hold it; to carry, pull or push objects that interfere with the management of the bike or endanger the other road users; to ride the bike in areas designated for pedestrians-this prohibition is not valid for cyclists under the age of 12.

The children must be informed about the maneuvers and alerts. A bike rider who intends to perform a maneuver is required to ensure that there is no prohibition of this maneuver and that he/she will not endanger road users. The signal for maneuvering shall be indicated by lights and if the rider does not have lights he/she must indicate by hands. The signals of the bike rider when maneuvering are: Left indicator or left hand, extended horizontally aside-this signals a move from the right lane of the road to the left lane, turn left, turn in reverse, stop or park in the left side of the road. Left or right hand stretched up indicates stop. Right indicator, right hand extended horizontally aside, left arm folded at the elbow shows crossing into the adjacent right lane, turn right, stop or park in the right part of the road.

It is important for the children to be well dressed in the winter. They should have gloves and hats and to have jackets. The scarf is also needed because the face of the kid can get cold. Don’t forget the helmet, because kids fall easily with their bikes and they should not be hurt.

The most important thing for the children is to be careful because they do not have the experience yet. However, if they are careful and well dressed on the road there will be no problem for them to ride their bikes as long as they want.

The Danish word for new children's bicycles is nye børnecykler and if you follow the link you will be taken to a very resourceful website where you can find them. Although the website is in Danish, you can translate it using Google Translator. If you want to help in teaching your kids how to ride a bicycle, click here.