A spring tune-up on cycling safety

Whether you are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle or gripping the handlebars of a bike, this can be a challenging time of year on the streets of cities and towns across the country.

The snow and the slush are largely gone, that's true, and roads are for the most part dry. But the arrival of those bike-friendly conditions means drivers and cyclists may need to relearn how to peaceably coexist. Seasonal cyclists and the four-season warriors will have to get used to each other again too.

The early part of the cycling season can see everyone a bit rusty on the ground rules for safe cycling and for sharing the road.

For more information please visit: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/a-spring-tune-up-on-cycling-safety/article1509027/

“I think what we consistently find is that when there are more cyclists on the road, it's much safer for all cyclists,” says Zlatko Krstulich, president of the Ottawa-based advocacy group Citizens for Safe Biking.

“The big reason is that drivers see one or two and they start to get in their minds ‘Hey, look out for cyclists.' ”

Nancy Kendrew, a co-owner of Toronto's Urbane Cyclist, says the onus to be mindful of cyclists doesn't just rest with drivers.

Ms. Kendrew is a dedicated four-season cyclist, as are others who work at her store, a worker-owned cycle shop. She and her colleagues notice that at this time of year, the seasonal or recreational cyclists can be as much of a threat to their fellow cyclists as cars.

“There's a two-edged thing. We think the No. 1 danger is from motorists – I mean, it's true if you get hit by a car it's much bigger. But if you do something [and] you're clipped by a fast-moving cyclist, it can lead to a serious injury as well,” she says.

“There are cyclists who go all season long. And they're very wary and they're very safety-oriented because they've gone through icy conditions and whatnot.

“And it's sort of like the newbies that come along in the springtime and they're not predictable, they don't stop at lights, they're not obeying the rules, some of them.”

Predictable. That word comes up a lot when you're talking to people knowledgeable about cycling safety. Being predictable is the key weapon cyclists have to protect themselves and others, Ms. Kendrew and Mr. Krstulich suggest. That means:

Bike where you are supposed to bike. Don't weave in and out of traffic.

Signal your turns. Signalling allows drivers and other cyclists to anticipate the directional changes you are about to make.

Obey the rules of the road.

For more information please visit: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/a-spring-tune-up-on-cycling-safety/article1509027/

Mandatory Bicycle Training for Children

Seoul's elementary schools will conduct mandatory courses on bicycle riding, with an emphasis on safety, officials said Wednesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has instructed the schools to introduce four hours of lessons on bicycle riding and safety tips a year.

"Many students ride bicycles to school or for physical exercise, but schools have been negligent in providing safety lessons," an official with the education office said. "This is one of the reasons for the rise in bicycle accidents."

According to police, there were a total of 10,915 bicycle-related traffic accidents in 2008. In particular, accidents involving children have been on the rise. In 2005, 257 elementary school students reported injuries from bicycle accidents. The figure rose to 388 in 2007.

With collaboration with the Seoul city administration, the education office has also distributed safety guidelines to schools. They are aimed at helping children dress properly for bicycle riding, abide by traffic signals and in how to deal with accidents.

According to a recent survey by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Management (KCDC), only three percent of children aged from three to 18 wear helmets while cycling.

The survey said 2.4 percent of children from 3 to 11 years old wore protective helmets in 2007 and 3.2 percent did so in 2008. In 2008, bicycle accidents accounted for 14 percent of traffic accident victims with 46 percent of them being under 20 years old.

In the United States, the helmet-wearing rate was 3.8 percent in 1991, but education and guidance campaigns raised the rate to 14.9 percent in 2007.

For more information please visit: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/03/117_62546.html

Society needs to help seniors who should stop driving

Society needs to do a better job helping seniors drive for as long as is safe and helping them adapt when the time comes to stop, says a new editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The journal suggested the already pressing problem is going to become even more difficult in the coming decade or two as the massive baby boom generation hits this stage in life. By 2025, one in every four Canadians will be 65 or older, noted the editorial, published in Tuesday's issue of the journal.

In addition to finding ways to get seniors who can no longer drive safely off the roads, communities and governments need to put in place programs that help seniors who give up their licences to continue to live independently if they are able.

"Solutions to the dilemma of who will drive our seniors - and eventually us - must be found. The status quo leaves too many seniors isolated and puts too many people at risk," Dr. Paul Hebert, editor-in-chief, and Dr. Noni MacDonald, public health section editor, wrote in the editorial.

They suggested society should plan for driving retirement the way it plans for job retirement.

The aim, they and others said, is not to get all older drivers off the road, but to find a way to identify those who need to stop driving and put in place systems to help them cope once they do.

That goal is harder to meet than one might expect, said Jonathan King, program director for driving research at the U.S. National Institute of Aging.

For more information please visit: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hFGpCAVmribMdSCvAK0FV9_2chrg