Bike safety – the golden rules to teach your child

Keep your little one safe while she's cycling

Cycling is a fun, healthy and social way to travel to school so it's no surprise that more and more children are peddling their way to lessons. But despite all the benefits, many parents are worried about the safety of letting their child cycle to school. Luckily, there are lots of things you can do to keep your child safe...

Wear a helmet

• Wearing a helmet could save your child's life. Research has demonstrated that helmets can reduce the severity of head injuries by up to 85 per cent. Surprisingly, it's not a legal requirement for children to wear cycle helmets but some schools have made it mandatory for any of their pupils who cycle in to wear a helmet.
• There are loads of funky cycle helmets on the market so let your child pick out his own - he'll then be more likely to want to wear it.
• Riding gloves and knee and elbow pads are also a good idea to protect your child from bumps and scrapes - especially if he's only just progressed from stabilsers!

Be seen

• Bikes can be hard to see on the road so make your child stands out by wearing high visibility clothing and a reflective jacket or sash.
• Lights and reflectors on the front and rear of the bike are also essential. Make sure your child cleans them regularly otherwise they won't be seen.
• Check light batteries regularly. Cycle bells are mandatory and will help your child let people know he's there.

Rules of the road

• The best way to make sure your child is safe cycling on the road is for him to attend a cycling proficiency course, such as Bikeabililty.
• Encourage your child to stick to cycle lanes where available.
• Explain that traffic lights apply to them as well as cars.
• Junctions can be especially dangerous for cyclists so make sure your child pays particular attention to traffic at junctions.
• Look out for cars pulling out of driveways or parked cars joining traffic.
• Give parked cars a wide berth in case passengers don't look and open doors.
• Use hand signals and look in all directions before turning.
• Avoid swerving suddenly.
• Never wear audio headphones or eat while riding.