Safety first on National Bike to School Day

Strap on your helmet and grab the whole family for National Bike to School Day on May 9. In honor of the 6th annual event, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health’s pediatric trauma team is offering a friendly reminder on bike safety with these easy-to-follow tips:

Wear a properly fitted bike helmet.

Put the helmet on your head and look up. You should see the bottom rim of the helmet.

Make sure the straps of the helmet form a ‘V’ under your ears when buckled. The straps should be snug but comfortable.

Open your mouth as wide as you can. Do you feel the helmet hug your head? If not, tighten the straps.

Ride on the sidewalk when you can. If not, ride in the same direction as traffic as far on the right-hand side as possible.

Use hand signals and follow the rules of the road.

Ride in a straight line and don’t swerve between cars.

Wear bright colors and use lights, especially when riding in the morning and evenings. Put reflectors on your bike and clothing so people can see you more easily.

Our trauma team is putting a spotlight on injury prevention in advance of Emergency Medical Services for Children Day, celebrated on May 23, 2018, which underscores the importance of high-quality emergency medical care for children.