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SCOOTER SAFETY
What Parents Can Do To Protect Their
Children On Scooters
-No child under 6 rides a scooter. They are too young and
have not developed their coordination.
-Children always wear appropriate safety gear, including an all sport
helmet that is CPSC certified, elbow and kneepads while riding their
scooter.
-Protective gear fits properly and does not interfere with the child's
movement, vision or hearing.
-Before your child rides his/her scooter, check it thoroughly for loose,
broken, or cracked parts, sharp edges, nicks or cracks
-You set the example and teach your children the traffic safety rules and
make sure they always abide by these rules while riding their scooter.
What Children Can Do To Stay Safe
While Riding Scooters
-Learn, follow, and use the rules of road while riding your
scooter.
-Only cross at crosswalks and keep to the right in the crosswalk and
always look all ways before crossing.
-At signalized crosswalks, cross only on the proper signal.
-Watch for cars and make sure that the way is clear before you cross and
make eye contact with the driver.
-Never cross in between parked cars.
-Always wear appropriate safety gear, including an all sport helmet that
is CPSC certified, elbow and kneepads while riding your scooter.
-Make sure that the protective gear fits properly and does not interfere
with your movement, vision or hearing.
-Ride scooters on smooth and paved surfaces free from traffic and avoid
riding on streets or surfaces with water, sand, gravel or dirt.
-Never ride your scooters at night.
-Never hitch a ride from a car, bus, truck bicycle, etc., and limit usage
of the scooter to one person at a time.
-Always use caution while riding your scooter downhill. If a steep hill is
encountered, step off the scooter and walk to the bottom of the hill.
Statistics
-Injuries associated with unpowered scooters have increased
dramatically.
-About 85% of those injured were children less than 15 years old.
-Two-thirds of those injured were males
-Most common injury was a fracture, most often to the arm or hand.
Information provided by the Greater
Sacramento Safe Kids Coalition
and the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District
For more information log onto: www.safekids.org or call toll free at (877)
543-7148
Or log onto: http://www.cpsc.gov/kids/kidsafety/index.html
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