Redesign handlebars to avoid spearing child cyclists

When children fall from their bicycles, they typically injure their heads and extremities. When they fall onto bicycle handlebars, however, they are more likely to be injured on the abdomen or pelvis, depending on the way the bicycle has fallen. This was the scenario for 16% of 107 injured child cyclists. Possible countermeasures include reviewing the use of stunt cycles for home use, selecting an appropriate sized bicycle, designing handlebars which curve away from the rider, limiting the rotation of the front wheel, and padding handlebars (

).

Walking to school

Increased car travel is associated with obesity, pollution, limited independence, and traffic congestion. To develop strategies to reduce car travel to and from schools, a survey was conducted with primary school aged children in inner London to determine their principal travel modes (on foot, by car, bus, train, or bicycle). The distance to school, parental car ownership, attending an independent school, and fear of abduction all influenced parents' decisions to drive children to school. The authors recommend policies to encourage attendance …