Clay County government recently spread the word about bicycle safety by staging a bike expo that featured obstacle courses, bike check-ups and free helmets.
About 100 people attended and 14 of them who preregistered got new helmets. The event was organized by the county's Parks and Recreation Department.
"With more and more young people using e-bikes and e-scooters, we've partnered with Clay County Fire Rescue, the Clay County Sheriff's Office and Clay County district schools to raise awareness aboutsafe practices," county spokeswoman Laura Christmas said.
That partnership has also produced safety tips on social media, including a post about how anyone operating a bike, e-bikes or e-scooter has the "same rights and responsibilities" as other drivers.
Here are some of those rules of the road:
- Obey all traffic lights
- Stop at all stop signs
- Yield when required
- Yield to pedestrians
- Drive slow in school zones
- Avoid distractions.
- Never assume a driver sees you
- Cross intersections slowly and predictably, making eye contact with drivers.
Also, Florida law requires:
- At night, bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters must have a white light visible from at least 500 feet in front and a red deflector visible from 600 feet to the rear.
- And bike, e-bike and e-scooter riders under age 16 must wear a properly fitted helmet that meets approved safety standards.
"Not all helmets are created equal. There's a difference between a standard bicycle helmet and one that's specifically designed for higher-speed e-bikes and e-scooters," the Sheriff's Office said.
St. Augustine author Marna Smith is a fervent supporter of such efforts, particularly the use of helmets, and attended an earlier Clay bike rodeo. Her childrens' book, "Playing Safe with Preston: A Book About Helmet Use and Brain Safety," was inspired by her oldest son.
He suffered a traumatic brain injury at age 20 after a skateboard fall, transformng his mother into a helmet advocate. The book is a "great reminder for families to slow down to play safe and to wear a helmet," she said.
Beth Reese Cravey has been a reporter for The Florida Times-Union for 45 years, currently specializing in nonprofits and health. She can be reached at bcravey@jacksonville.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Clay County spreads the word about bike safety, particularly electric
