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Injury Prevention
Manitoba Healthy Living

Bike Safety

Bike riding is a great way to enjoy the fresh air and to get exercise.  It’s a fun and healthy way of getting around the neighborhood, the city or even the country!  Many people also use cycling as a way of getting to and from school or work.   And for children, that first bike can represent a new found freedom and mobility. 

Cycling has its risks.  Most often, bike crashes cause nothing more than scrapes and bruises, but sometimes bones are broken and head injuries can occur.  Every year in Manitoba, about 150 cyclists are hospitalized and several are killed.  The majority of deaths from cycling injuries involve collisions of bicycles with motor vehicles.  Many bike-related injuries can be prevented or protected against.  There are many ways to be safer while cycling.  The whole family can learn and practice good cycling habits.

Bike crashes and falls often happen to riders on bikes that are too large or too small, bikes that are not working properly or to riders that don’t know or follow the rules of the road.

Bike injuries can happen anywhere, including:

  • close to home on sidewalks and side streets;
  • in both rural and urban areas.  More people in Manitoba are admitted to rural hospitals than urban hospitals for bike injuries; and
  • at intersections, multi-lane roads and rural roads.  These are where bike-related deaths are most likely to happen.

For children under 15 years old, most bike injuries happen when the child:

  • rides out of a driveway without stopping;
  • goes through stop signs or red lights;
  • turns or swerves to the left without checking; or
  • falls off the bike because of poor riding skills, poor fit or because the bike is not in good condition.

There are many ways that people can be safer while cycling, including:

  1. Bike helmetUsing your head and wearing a helmet.

    Protect Your Noggin. Wear a helmet every time.
  • Make sure that everyone in the family always wears a bicycle helmet when riding a bike.  Bike helmets can substantially lower the chances of head injury.  Look for a helmet approved by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), or ASTM International.
  • At about 12 years of age, some children think that they are now good cyclists and quit wearing helmets.  Urge them to keep wearing their helmets – there is nothing “cool” about a head injury.
  • Be a role model and wear your helmet every time you cycle.
  1. Buying or borrowing a bike that fits.
  • Make sure that you have the right sized bicycle.  A person should be able to comfortably straddle a boy's version of their bike with both feet flat on the ground.  If a girl’s bike is preferred simply ask the retailer for a girl’s version in the same size after fitting is complete. Don’t buy a bike that is too big so children will grow into it.
  • Most cyclists ride bikes with seats that are too low.  If the seat is at the correct height their leg will be straight when sitting on the saddle with their heel on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke.
  • Make sure that the wheels are on tight, that the brakes work and that handle bars are at a comfortable height.
  1. Learning and following the rules of the road. 
  • Bicycles and tricycles are vehicles – not toys.  Riders must obey road signs and traffic rules just like people driving cars, trucks and buses.
  • Learn about using hand signals to let drivers know when you are stopping or turning.
  • Understand how traffic flows, and remember that all vehicles, including bikes, must always drive on the right side of the road.  Make sure everyone in the family knows what the road signs mean.
  • Take steps to be visible.  Wear bright clothing in the daylight (consider fluorescent colours) and wear retroreflective clothing at night.  Use a white headlight on the front and a red or orange light on the back.  A retroreflective strip around your ankle will make you unmistakable as a cyclist.

A word about infant bike carriers and trailers…

  • In Manitoba, it is the law that all children riding in bike carriers must wear a helmet.  While this law does not address bike trailers, wearing an approved helmet would certainly make these trailers safer in the event of a crash or collision.
  • For more information, check out a safe cycling programs in your community.  Ask your school, local police service or community club about bike safety programs for children.   Listed below are some links to community partners who provide bike safety information and programming.
  • (The above information is adapted from a bike safety document from IMPACT – a community partner of Manitoba Healthy Living and the Canadian Cycling Association's CANBIKE Skills Program.)

BIKE SAFETY LINKS:

For more information and great tips on safe cycling visit these helpful websites: