Officer Tony Larsen
Bicycle Safety Coordinator

Please register your bicycle with Mobridge City Hall
by purchasing your 2011 Bike License for $1.00

It's the law!
 

The 2011 MPD Bicycle Safety Program was presented to approximately 275 students in the Mobridge Elementary Schools in grades Kindergarten through Fifth. Approximately 50 children participated in the Bike Rodeo. Approximately 45 free bike helmets were disbursed and 39 free bicycle licenses were issued. Bike Rodeo numbers were down this year due to inclement weather causing the postponement of the Bike Rodeo by a week and the makeup day having several conflicting events. However, we look forward to seeing how many children will participate in 2012!

MPD Bicycle Safety Program

The MPD Bike Patrol Unit hosts an annual MPD Bicycle Safety Program during May for Mobridge area youth. Personnel from the Mobridge Police Department, Mobridge Hospital Regional Ambulance Service, and Mobridge Fire Department volunteer to register participants, issue annual municipal bike licenses, provide bike safety inspections, fit participants for free bike helmets, and monitor participants in completing a special bike safety riding course. The safety course is designed to test and give participants knowledge of how to safely operate their bicycles. Participants are also given a safety presentation on the safe and responsible operation of bicycles.

Bicycle helmets are provided for free to youth not already having a properly fitting helmet through the MPD Bicycle Safety Program by Mobridge Regional Hospital & Clinics. Other bike safety materials are provided for the program by State Farm Insurance - Agent Doug Heil.

Two brand new bicycles are also given away as prizes to eligible participants. The bicycles are provided to the program through Wells Fargo and Dacotah Bank.

Participants are required to bring their bicycle and are also required to wear a bicycle helmet. Use of a friend's bike is discouraged, since the purpose of the program is to have participants become familiar with operating their own bikes.

Participants are eligible to receive a free Mobridge Bicycle License. Otherwise, annual Mobridge Bicycle Licenses can be obtained at Mobridge City Hall for a $1.00 fee. Registering a bicycle in Mobridge is required by municipal law and assists law enforcement in identifying recovered bicycles that have been lost or stolen. RESIDENTS MUST RE-REGISTER FOR A NEW LICENSE EVERY YEAR.

Mobridge Bicycle Licenses may also be purchased at Mobridge City Hall at 114 1st Avenue East at any time during business hours.

The Mobridge Fire Department also hosts a fire safety program during this event and provides youth with the ability to learn how to properly escape during a house fire with use of a fire safety "smoke trailer".

May is National Bike Safety Month

Promoting and practicing safe techniques is the first step in preventing bicycle-related injuries and deaths. There were 105 injuries and 1 death involving bicycles in South Dakota in 2003, according to the SD Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Summary. In the United States each year, there is an average of 900 bicycle-related deaths and more than 500,000 bicycle injuries requiring hospital emergency room treatment. Every week 2700 children suffer serious head injuries and every day 2 die in crashes while bicycling.

May is National Bike Month and a good time to remind all parents and bicycle riders that the first and most important step in bicycle safety is wearing a helmet and wearing it correctly. Research shows that properly-worn bike helmets can reduce the risk of serious head and brain injury by as much as 88 percent. Remember the following tips when bicycling:

• Bicycles are vehicles with the same rights, rules and responsibilities as other road users; always share the road.

• On every ride, wear a helmet that meets federal safety standards issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. To determine the correct helmet size, measure the rider’s head with a tape measure.

• Adjust the helmet pads and straps so the fit is snug and level. The helmet should be worn 1-2 finger widths above the head, not tilted back on the crown or pulled low over the forehead.

• If a helmet has been dropped hard or been in a crash, replace it.

• Make sure the bicycle is the right size. When sitting on the seat with hands on the handlebar, the rider should be able to place the ball of each foot on the ground.

• Check for traffic and be aware of the traffic around you. Over 70 percent of car-bicycle crashes occur at driveways or other intersections. Before riding into traffic: stop, look left, right, left again, and over your shoulder.

• Ride single file in the same direction as other traffic and always use hand signals.

• Wear bright clothes to be visible and avoid biking at night.

• Adults and parents should be good role models and wear helmets too.

The MPD Bicycle Safety Program offers free bicycle helmets through help from Mobridge Regional Hospital & Clinics to promote bicycle safety to children and youth.

As part of the MPD Bicycle Safety Program, Bike Patrol Unit Police Cyclists issue certificates for treats redeemable at local businesses to children & youth wearing helmets while bike riding, roller blading, and skateboarding as a reward and to reinforce the importance of wearing helmets.