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To ensure safety
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It is necessary to wear the helmet, have the lights on, keep brakes in good conditions and obey traffic rules while cycling.
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CHILDREN LEARNING to ride a bicycle need no more safety equipment than good elbow and kneepads. Skill brings with it speed, and speed the need for safety precautions and equipment.
As always, lack of common sense, more than lack of costly gear, causes most accidents. Even the most cautious of riders need some basic safety gear.
Wear a helmet, even if you feel like a fool wearing it. Do not let your child cycle to school without one. Three out of four cyclist deaths result from the bare head hitting the ground. Even low velocity falls can cause serious head injuries, and research shows wearing helmets can prevent nearly ninety per cent of these injuries.
Buy your cycling helmet only from a reputable dealer. Try it on. Make sure it is a snug fit, without a forward or backward tilt. The brim must clear the eyebrows by at least 1 cm. The chin traps go over both ears in the shape of a V, with the ear in the middle of the V.
Cycling helmets have air vents for airflow. Avoid cone-shaped helmets, ones with too many or too few vents, and models with flimsy straps. Replace the helmet after a crash or after five years of use.
No light, no see, no ride. Do not ride at nights without a light, and avoid unlit streets if you can. Dynamos that depend upon pedal-power deliver light of varying intensity. Get a battery-run headlamp for good illumination.
Double beam lights are good for off-road use. Single beam ones will do for most roads. Helmet-mounted lights are good auxiliary lights for off-road biking. Fix wide reflectors on all four sides of the cycle.
Remember, it is your job to make yourself easily visible to other motorists. Without these visibility aids, they may look straight at you but they may not see you. Wear light coloured or fluorescent clothing at night.
Brakes. Keep your brakes in good condition. The front brake is invaluable for braking hard, but it needs practice and skill.
Learn to brake hard without falling over the handlebars. Allow for greater breaking distances on rainy days.
Keep your wits about you. Obey traffic rules, and adhere to speed limits. Ride in a straight line as much as possible.
Do not expect children, animals and the physically disadvantaged to obey traffic rules or react in time.
Assume every parked car is going to open its door just when you pass it, so swerve enough when you swipe past it.
Wet weather impairs visibility, so keep your lights on even during the day.
RAJIV M.
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