13 July, 2009

D.C. APPROPRIATE SAFETY GEAR AND REGISTERING YOUR BIKE

PREPARE FOR YOUR SUMMER BICYCLE RIDES BY GETTING THE
APPROPRIATE SAFETY GEAR AND REGISTERING YOUR BIKE

According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, motor vehicle collisions account for nearly 90 percent of all bicycle-related deaths. A collision with a motor vehicle increases the risk of death, severity of injury, and probability of head injury. Help protect your child against such accidents by making sure that he/she wears a helmet at all times while cycling. The District of Columbia has bicycle helmet laws to protect cyclists under the age of 16 who enjoy the many streets and trails in and around the Nation’s Capital. Helmet laws are enforced for minors and encouraged for all adult cyclists, so please make sure you and your child wear a helmet at all
times when riding a bike.

In addition to mandating that riders under age 16 wear a helmet
while riding a bicycle, the law also requires that children under the age of 16 wear a helmet when riding a scooter, skateboard, sled, coaster, toy vehicle, or any similar device.

While bike registration has been the responsibility of the MPD in the past, bicycle
registration laws changed in the District of Columbia on June 1, 2008. Bicycle registration is no longer required in the District of Columbia. However, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) strongly encourage residents to register their bicycles with the National Bicycle Registry (NBR). NBR is a service that allows you to register your bicycle in a national database by serial number. If your bike is ever stolen, it can be identified and you can prove ownership. Law enforcement anywhere
can access this database. NBR also guarantees your registration. If your bike is stolen and not recovered by police within 6 months, NBR will register your next bike for free and the stolen bike information will remain in the database until the bike is recovered no matter how long
it takes.

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