Children must ride properly secured in child safety seats until they are both 5 years old and weigh over 40 pounds.

Children who weigh over 40 pounds, but under 5, must ride in booster seats.

Children older than 5 and over 40 pounds must wear a properly secured safety belt.

Children 12 and older must wear a safety belt as required by the Massachusetts Safety Belt Law. This law applies to all adults as well.

Drivers will be fined $25 for each unrestrained child.

A police officer may stop your motor vehicle if a child 12 and under is riding unrestrained.

This law applies to children in all types of privately-owned vehicles and vehicles for hire, including taxi cabs.

For the full text of this law, go to Governor's Highway Safety Bureau.

CHILD SAFETY SEATS SAVE LIVES

Motor vehicle crashes pose a tremendous risk for children. Eight children ages 0 to 12 were killed and approximately 500 were injured in motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts in 1999.

When properly installed, child safety seats reduce the risk of death in a motor vehicle crash by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. Safety belts increase the chance of surviving a crash by 45%. Yet 22% of children 5 and under were observed riding unrestrained in Massachusetts in 1999. This same study found 57% of children 6 to 12 were unbelted.
(Information from Massachusetts Governor's Highway Safety Bureau)

Studies show that the most common factor in bicycle accidents is bicyclists riding on the wrong side of the street. The major reason for these accidents occurring is that when vehicles are turning at intersections or entering traffic from a driveway, drivers are looking to the left. They may not see a bicyclist approaching from the right. If the accident occurs on the sidewalk chances are, both drivers are at fault. But it really doesn't matter since the bicyclist is the one who will suffer the most severe injuries.

The mix of bicycle and pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk poses conflicts. Sidewalks are designed for pedestrian use and are often congested with pedestrian traffic. Pedestrians often move from one side to the other. Bicycles travel faster and cannot always avoid hitting moving pedestrians.

The above pictures show several different styles of bicycle helmets.

WHY WEAR A HELMET?

There are 85 million bicycle riders in the US

About 800 bicyclists die in the US every year

About 550,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year.

Bicycle crashes and injuries are under reported, since the majority are not serious enough for emergency room visits.

One in eight of the cyclists with reported injuries has a brain injury.

Two-thirds of the deaths here are from traumatic brain injury.

Eighty eight percent of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet.

Many years of potential life are lost because about half of the deaths are children under 15 years old.

Direct costs of cyclists' injuries are estimated at $81 million each year.

Indirect costs of cyclists' injuries are estimated at $2.3 billion each year.

Helmets are cheap. The typical discount store price has risen from under $10 to about $15, but there are still models available for under $10 at major retailers.

Bicycle Safety: Recognizing Hazards

Hazards that commonly affect cyclists fall into three categories: surface, visual and moving.

Surface hazards commonly include holes and cracks in the pavement, road edge deterioration or drop off, curb and gutter joints, expansion joints, differences in pavement height or grade, loose sand, debris or glass, skewed railroad tracks, drainage/manhole covers, and standing water.

Visual hazards include environmental conditions (sun glare, darkness, fog, smoke, etc.), obstructed view by parked or moving vehicles, fences and landscaping, buildings, and pedestrians.

Moving hazards include motor vehicles, other approaching cyclists (in either direction), opening car doors, vehicles pulling out from parking spaces, pedestrians, and animals.