Guilford Police Asking Bike Riders to “Please Wear Helmets”

GUILFORD, CT - Guilford police are asking everyone to think about bike safety this summer.

On the police department’s Facebook page is the following post:

“Now that summer is finally here we wanted to make sure you are all aware of the CT State Law regarding bicycle helmets for kids.

“Connecticut State law requires anyone under the age of 16 to wear a helmet while riding a bike. We suggest everyone should wear a helmet on every ride, no matter how short the journey. Make sure that your helmet meets or exceeds safety standards.

“According to Kidshealth.org around 300,000 kids go to emergency rooms annually for bicycle injuries and roughly 10,000 of those kids require at least a few nights stay in the hospital. Sadly, some injuries result in traumatic brain injuries and death, some of which could have been prevented with a helmet.

http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/...

“All traffic laws apply to you on a bicycle. You ride with traffic, not against traffic. If there is a stop sign.... you also have to stop. Same goes for traffic lights... you need a bike headlight at night and a tail lights help with visibility.

“If you are crossing the roadway... you need to wait until it is safe to do so. Ride as far to the right on the road as practicable. Use hand signals when changing lanes. All of these rules of the road are designed to make travel safer for everyone... but especially bicyclists.

“The old adage is :

“He with the most lug nuts.... wins.
——> bicycles have no lug nuts, so a car, truck, dump truck, or tractor trailer will ‘win’ against a bike (if you want to call it that) every time.

“Let’s keep our kids safe and make sure they know the rules of the road before venturing out on our roads AND ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!

“No exceptions.

“Guilford Police and Fire Department’s have handled far too many bicycle accidents, including some that have been fatal. If we have everyone wearing helmets.... we will hopefully reduce the risk of a traumatic brain injury or fatality in the event a bicyclist is involved in an collision.

“A safety list by the CT State Police can be found by clicking on this link:

http://www.ct.gov/despp/lib/de...

“Thank you for sharing and stay safe.”