Health Topics

The CPSC and Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati recommend the following safety tips:

• Always wear proper safety gear, including a helmet and knee and elbow pads to help prevent injuries.
• A person should wear a helmet each time he/she rides a bicycle, skateboard, scooter, as well as when they are rollerblading and skating, to help protect his/her head. Helmets should meet the following standards Snell Memorial Foundation®, American Society For Testing and Materials (ASTM), and CPSC.
• Knee pads will help prevent injuries to the knee and elbow.

Most injuries from scooter-related accidents have resulted when a rider falls off of a scooter. According to the CPSC, fractures and dislocations of the arms and hands account for 29 percent of most scooter injuries.

Parents should teach children the following rules of the road:

• Stop at every stop sign. Look left, right, and left again before proceeding.
• Stop at the end of the driveway. Look left, right, and left before entering the street.
• Use proper hand signals.
• Obey traffic signs and signals.
• Ride scooters on smooth, paved surfaces without traffic.
• Avoid streets and surfaces with water, sand, gravel or dirt.
• Do not ride a scooter at night.