As part of the Siloam Springs Police Department's Night Out Against Crime Friday, Aug. 11, officers will host a free bicycle safety program and a car seat clinic at the Siloam Springs Community Building from 6:00-8:00. The bicycle safety program is open to all ages to learn about the importance of safety and bicycles laws. The car seat clinic will review installation of car seats. Officers will give car seats to those who do not have them through the Department's loaner program. Children using the seats must be present.
Bicycle Safety Program:
Officers will discuss the safety measures needed to bicycle in Siloam Springs. Bike safety will cover a pre-ride checklist, ideal clothing and equipment, bicycling laws and the mental awareness needed for bike riding.
For those interested, a group ride from the gazebo in City Park to the Family Aquatic Center is scheduled around 6:45 p.m. After the movie, participants can ride back to the City Park gazebo with the police escort. Proper equipment and brightly colored clothing/reflective gear is highly recommended.
• Bicycle helmets reduce the risk of head and brain injuries in the event of a crash. All bicyclists, regardless of age, can help protect themselves by wearing properly fitted bicycle helmets every time they ride.
• Interventions that have shown promise for reducing injuries and fatalities to bicyclists include the following:
o Fluorescent clothing can make bicyclists visible from further away than regular clothing during the daytime.
o Reflective clothing can make bicyclists more visible at night.
o Active lighting can include front white lights, rear red lights, or other lighting on the bicycle or bicyclist. This lighting may improve the visibility of bicyclists.
• Adults aged 50 to 59 years have the highest bicycle death rates.
• Children (5-14 years) and adolescents (15-19 years) have the highest rates of nonfatal bicycle-related injuries, accounting for more than one-third of all bicycle-related injuries seen in U.S. emergency departments.
• Males die six times more often and are injured four times more often on bicycles than females.
• Most bicyclist deaths occur in urban areas and at non-intersection locations.
Car Seat Clinic:
The car seat clinic will consist of the Police Department's certified car seat technicians checking existing car seats for proper installation. If the seat is not properly installed technicians will show the parent/caregiver how to properly install the car seat. Technicians cannot ensure the car seat is 100% correctly installed unless the child who uses the seat is present.
Additionally, officers will check to see if the car seat is on the recall list also and give direction on how to contact the car seat manufacturer.
SSPD has a limited number of car seats to provide through their loaner program for families who do not have a car seat for their child or to replace a car seat a child has outgrown or is on the recall list. Car seats cannot be provided unless the child is present to verify the proper seat.
• Motor vehicle injuries are a leading cause of death among children in the United States, but many of these deaths can be prevented.
• In the United States, 663 children ages 12 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes during 2015, and more than 121,350 were injured in 2014.
• Child restraint systems are often used incorrectly. An estimated 46% of car and booster seats (59% of car seats and 20% of booster seats) are misused in a way that could reduce their effectiveness.
• Car seat use reduces the risk for death to infants (aged <1 year) by 71%; and to toddlers (aged 1--4 years) by 54% in passenger vehicles.
• Booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45% for children aged 4--8 years when compared with seat belt use alone.
• For older children and adults, seat belt use reduces the risk for death and serious injury by approximately half.
Statistics are from the Center for Disease Control.
General News on 08/09/2017