PARENTS:Help your student learn how to use our streets safely.

Help your child choose the best walking or cycling route -- it may not be the same way you would drive in a car. Children who regularly practice safe walking and biking with their parents are more likely to make safer choices as teenagers.

Bicycle Safety Tips

  • Be predictable. This means following the same rules of the road as car drivers do when riding your bike. Avoid crashes as well as traffic tickets by obeying ALL stop signs, traffic signals, and other traffic laws.
  • Ride on the right, moving in the same direction as traffic. Wrong way riding is extremely dangerous. If there is no bike lane, ride as far to the right as practicable. Stay visible to traffic by not weaving in and out of parked cars.
  • Wear your helmet and buckle it every time – it’s the law. To best protect your brain, your helmet must fit properly: snug and level on your head, just above your eyebrows.
  • Make eye contact with drivers – especially at intersections and driveways. Don’t assume that drivers see you! Watch for right-turning cars by checking over your left shoulder.
  • Be alert and visible. Watch out for doors being opened from parked cars, cars turning left or right, and cars coming out of driveways. Avoid riding on sidewalks -- you are most visible in the roadway with other vehicles.
  • You always have the option of getting off your bike and becoming a pedestrian. Consider this if the intersection is especially crowded. Move out of the stream of traffic, get off your bike and walk it in the pedestrian crosswalk.
  • Obey adult crossing guards or the safety patrol. They are there to help you cross congested intersections safely.
  • Do NOT carry things in your hands. You should secure anything you need to carry on your bike rack or basket. Keep your backpack snug, not dangling low on your back.

Pedestrian Safety Tips

  • Be alert. Look for cars coming from all directions before entering the street – including from behind you.
  • Don’t assume drivers see you! Make eye contact - especially at intersections and driveways.
  • Obey adult crossing guards or the safety patrol. They are there to help you cross congested intersections safely.
  • Be predictable. Do not make sudden moves that place you in the path of oncoming vehicle traffic. Wait until it’s your turn at traffic signals.
  • Cross at corners. This is where drivers expect to see you. Crossing mid-block is hazardous as well as being illegal near traffic signals.
  • At intersections with traffic signals, start crossing with the white WALK symbol only. Do not start to cross once the red flashing hand appears -- wait for the next light cycle.

Driver Safety Tips

  • Always observe the 25 mph maximum speed in school zones. 
  • Obey “No Right Turn on Red” signs where posted at school intersections. This allows children to cross safely without cars turning through the crosswalk.
  • Set a good safety example by following instructions of crossing guards. Also:
    1. Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
    2. Avoid making U-turns and other unsafe maneuvers.
    3.  Don’t double park. Avoid blocking red curbs or disabled access ramps.
    4. Make sure your child gets out of your car on the curb side, not near traffic.
    5. Use booster seats to make adult seat belts safer for children younger  than 8 years old or under 4’9” tall.
  • Be aware of school commute routes. Children walking or biking to school help reduce traffic congestion – give them a brake and use extra caution. Young children think that cars can stop instantly, and may not be able to judge speed or distance of vehicles moving toward them.
  • Try to carpool whenever possible to help reduce the congestion around schools.
  • Don’t rush – leave home a few minutes earlier instead!

 

RESOURCE: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=13479

Created on March 31, 2009 22:54:01 by Chanchal Sahai? (69.107.90.36)