Teaching your Child the Rules
Downhill, Stunt and Com pe ti tion Biking
need to be taught ... and to have fre quent ly reinforced ... the
following rules and lessons which adults are already expected
to know. We urge you to take the time to fa mil iar ize yourself
with these rules and to teach them to your child before you
let your child ride unsupervised.
• No playing in the road or in the street.
• No riding on busy streets.
• No riding at dawn, dusk or at night.
• Stop for all STOP signs.
• Ride on the right of traf c.
The lessons that follow relate to some of the most com mon
real situations that children encounter when riding their bikes.
Go over these situations with your child and make sure the
lesson objective is accomplished.
When a youngster rides out of the driveway and is struck
by a car, that is called a rideout accident.
First, realize the danger of your own
driveway. If there are obstructions to the view of passing
motorists (like bushes or trees), trim them back. You might park
your car in front of the drive way, if local ordinance permits. This
way, your child can’t use the driveway as a launching pad.
But the most important thing you can do is teach your child
about driveway safety. Take your child outside to the driveway
and have him/her practice the following steps:
1) Stop before entering the street.
2) Look left, right and left again for traf c.
3) If there’s no traf c, proceed into the roadway.
Car/bike crashes can happen when a cyclist runs a stop
sign. Most cyclists who get hit riding through stop signs know
that they were supposed to stop. They just thought it would be
OK this time; or they may have been distracted. The thing to
impress upon your child is that while he/she may not get hit every
time, running stop signs will eventually result in an accident.
Take your child to a stop sign near home.
Explain what it means by emphasizing the following points:
1) Stop at all stop signs, regardless of what is happening.
2) Look in all directions for traf c.
3) Watch for oncoming cars making left turns.
4) Watch for cars behind you making right turns.
5) Wait for any cross traf c to clear.
In order to make this lesson stick, you may have to change
your own driving habits. If
creep through intersections
controlled by stop signs, you are showing your child that you
don’t really believe what you preach. For your child’s sake,
c. Turning Without Warning
Another major accident type involves cyclists who make
un ex pect ed left turns. They neither look behind for traf c, nor
