Bicycles are not toys. No toy could claim the lives of more than 500 children each year and seriously injure more than half a million others. Of course, nobody wants to give their child a bike and then take the fun away by having to impose rules. But giving your child a "toy" designed to share the roadway with vehicles made of several thousand pounds of steel and glass is a huge responsibility. This article highlights some critically important safety lessons you may want to drill into your child before sending him or her out on a bicycle.

Most bicycle accidents happen on quiet residential streets, like the ones in our community. The most common occurs when a bicyclist darts out of a driveway or through an intersection without stopping. As a general rule, all bicyclists should be trained to stop, look, and listen at every intersection, including the end of a driveway. A child is at his most energetic when first leaving the house and can easily be distracted by trying to catch up with friends or by chasing an ice cream truck around the corner. Be sure your child gets on his bicycle with a cool head and is always aware that cycling is a serious responsibility.

As unnatural as it may seem, bicyclists should also obey STOP signs for several reasons. The most obvious is to reduce the risk of collision with a car. Auto drivers should never have to guess what your child will do at a STOP sign. This often sends a driver into a panic, causing him or her to speed up and beat the cyclist to the sign. The wrong combination of actions between the driver and the cyclist in this situation can be deadly. Remember, auto drivers are used to judging the speed of oncoming cars and cannot always calculate how long it will take a bicycle to reach an intersection. If the driver at least knows that the bicyclist will honor a STOP sign, he or she can proceed as if the bicycle were another automobile. Using hand signals for turns and stops will also help ensure that drivers don't make misjudgments that can seriously harm your child. Teach your child the basic rules of the road and give her a head start on training to be a safe auto driver later in life.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a very bike-friendly community. Intersections, driveways, and broken up sidewalks are everywhere - in addition to all the drivers scurrying around town with cell phones to their ears. For this reason, it is extremely crucial that all bicyclists follow one particular rule to the letter: Always, always, always ride on the right side of the road, in the direction of traffic. This can save a cyclist's life in so many situations. Drivers, particularly young ones, are only accustomed to dealing with oncoming traffic from one direction at a time. If you've ever driven in a country where cars drive on the left, you know how easy it is to "slip" and suddenly be in the path of oncoming traffic. Imagine a collision between your child and a car speeding through an intersection unaware that your child is zipping up the wrong side of the road.

Children should be taught to stay right, carefully moving to the center of the road only to make left turns. Of course, the bicyclist should stay far enough from the curb to avoid hitting it with a pedal, and should always be on the lookout for partially open storm drains. Riders should also be taught to look out for opening car doors when riding on a street where cars are parked. A good habit is to look inside each car for signs of a driver about to exit.

With all the dangers of bicycling on the street, you may be tempted to restrict your child's riding to the sidewalk. In New York City, sidewalk riding is illegal. Here in the Town of Oyster Bay, it's just a really bad idea. The sidewalks in our neighborhood cross way too many driveways to be safe for a bicyclist. Auto drivers do not instinctively begin to look for traffic until they reach the end of the driveway, at which point, it may be too late to stop for a bicyclist coming up on the sidewalk. In addition, many of our sidewalks are in serious disrepair, including the ones on major streets like Jackson Avenue and South Oyster Bay Road.

Remember, children do not learn from reading about bike safety. They need you to practice with them early on, before they develop bad habits. We've seen recently how handing young, inexperienced drivers the keys to super powered cars can lead to catastrophe. Giving a child a bicycle without proper training can be just as disastrous.

Tom Montalbano is the director of Recycle-A-Cycle, an all-volunteer program in which local teenagers restore donated bikes for underprivileged children. He has also spent his entire life bicycling the streets of Syosset, Woodbury, Jericho and beyond. For information about Recycle-A-Cycle and links to other bicycle safety information, visit www.geocities.com/RecycleACycle.