Bicycles, scooters and skateboards

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• The basics
• Bicycle safety checklist
• Skateboard and rollerblade safety checklist
• Scooter safety checklist

The basics

• Protective gear and safety lessons are important to help protect against serious injuries, because falls can and do happen.
• Teach your child to ask you where it is OK to ride.
• Try to give your child some practice in a safe area such as in your backyard or at a park.
• No matter how good your child's knowledge of road safety and how advanced her cycling skills, always make sure a grown-up is with her until she is at least 10 years old.

Bicycle safety checklist

A lot of injuries occur because a child is trying to ride a bike that is too big. You will know the bike is the right size if your child can sit on the bike seat and touch the ground with both feet at the same time.

Check that the bike is in good working order, so that accidents don't happen as a result of the chain coming off, wheels loosening or brakes not functioning.

Make sure the:

• brakes work correctly
• chain is well oiled and not loose
• tyres are firm, with no bald spots or patches
• pedals spin easily
• bell or horn is loud enough to hear
• reflectors and lights are clean and secure
• seat is adjusted to suit the child’s height
• handlebar ends are covered by hand grips.

Helmet safety checklist

• Look for a helmet with a Standards Australia mark on the label.
• Second-hand helmets can be risky – there's no way of knowing if the previous owner has damaged it in an accident.
• Take your child with you when buying a helmet to make sure it is properly fitted.
• Do the push test to make sure the helmet is a snug fit: if you can push the helmet backwards, forwards or sideways once you’ve done up the clips, it’s too big.
• Grown-ups should also wear helmets to set the right example and protect their own heads.

Safe riding

• Children under 10 need to cycle with a grown-up, and preferably on bike paths.
• Teach children to walk bikes across pedestrian crossings instead of riding across the street.
• Children need to show that they can follow road rules, and predict what cars will do, before being allowed to cycle alone. This takes a long time and a lot of practice.
• Teach children that riding in wet weather requires different skills and extra caution.
• Teach children to wear enclosed footwear when riding, rather than thongs or bare feet. Bare feet can be hurt if they catch in the spokes or chain or if they're used as a brake.
• Discourage stunt riding. 'Look no hands’ and 'dinking' are asking for trouble.

Learning to ride

Learning to balance and control a bicycle might result in a few falls, but most children get the hang of balance and control fairly quickly. It takes lots of time and practice to develop the skills and understanding to ride safely in the street and in traffic.

When children start learning to ride, it is best if they:

• are away from traffic and in a safe place such as a backyard or park
• are somewhere that provides a soft landing for falls, such as grass
• learn at their own pace
• have good adult role models who always wear their helmets
• take extra lessons from a school-based bicycle-education program when they reach nine or 10 years.

Read CHOICE magazine's guide to buying bikes.

Skateboard and rollerblade safety checklist

Safe falling

Teach your child how to fall in a safe way. It's a good idea to give your child some falling practice on a grassy patch before she hits the skate ramp.

Tips for falling safely:

• Bend your knees and get down low.
• Try to fall sideways, not backwards or head first.
• Fall onto your pads.

What to wear

• A skate helmet that protects the back of the head (a bike helmet is the wrong shape). If you can push the helmet backward or forwards once you’ve done up the clips, the helmet is too big and will not protect your child's head properly. Look for the Standards Australia mark on the helmet.
• Wrist guards – broken wrists are a common skating injury.
• Elbow pads.
• Kneepads.

Where to skate

• Start your child off in your own backyard, in a park, on a bike path or at a skate bowl with beginners’ slopes.
• Discourage your child from skating on the footpath or road – she is much more likely to have an accident skating near cars or pedestrians.
• Supervise young children at all times when they are skating.

Scooter safety checklist

Hospitals report lots of children arriving at emergency departments after falling off metal mini-scooters.

Check that the scooter has:

• good brakes and locks
• no sharp edges
• a steering column that locks easily, that it will not collapse and that it is not too short for the child
• handlebar grips that do not swivel
• a running board high off the ground
• anti-skid footboards.

What to wear

• A skate helmet that protects the back of the head – a bike helmet is the wrong shape. If you can push the helmet backward or forwards once you’ve done up the clips, the helmet is too big and will not protect your child's head properly. Look for the Standards Australia mark on the helmet.
• Wrist guards – broken wrists are a common scooter injury.
• Kneepads.
• Elbow pads.

Learning to scoot

• Insist your child practise and ride in a safe place, such as a dual footpath/bike path away from roads, driveways and steep slopes.
• Find out if your local skate park offers scooter lessons.
• Supervise your child when she is riding a scooter on the streets before judging whether she can scoot alone safely.

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