Pullman police host first bike rodeo and car seat check Saturday

Sgt. Dan Hargraves of the Pullman Police Department set the egg down on the asphalt and handed a young girl and boy a small hammer.

He asked the children to try to smash the egg, but not before he placed a standard bike helmet over it.

Obviously, their attempts were futile. It was a simple but effective demonstration.

"That's why we wear helmets, folks," he said to the group of children and parents standing nearby.

It was one of several demonstrations Saturday at the first bike rodeo and car seat check hosted by the Pullman Police.

Police and volunteers showed up at the Wal-Mart parking lot to educate children and parents on proper bike and car seat safety practices.

There, they listened to Hargraves explain the importance of not only wearing a helmet, but wearing it correctly. He told children the front of the helmet should come down to their eyebrows.

Hargraves said these reminders are important because as people become more comfortable on their bike, they tend to forget proper safety practices.

For example, Hargraves said he often sees parents riding with their children, and while the children have helmets, the parents don't.

He said it doesn't matter how much experience someone has riding a bike, accidents can always happen.

"They don't really think of the implications," he said.

Employees of B&L Bicycles in Pullman stood under a tent and checked bikes to make sure brakes were working, bike size was appropriate for the child and tire pressure was adequate.

Children could then take their bikes and ride around a course with small ramps and obstacles to simulate what it's like riding over train tracks and through intersections.

Six-year-old Pullman resident Tate Herbold was one of the many children at the event who received a free helmet donated by Wal-Mart.

He took on the bicycle course, where he learned how to use appropriate hand signals. Herbold assured bystanders he's always safe when he jumps on a bike.

"When I'm out riding, I keep my helmet on," he said.

Next to the obstacle course sat three tents where drivers could have their child car seat inspected.

Marie Miller of the Moscow Police Department joined other child passenger safety technicians in the inspections. She said technicians check the seat to make sure it fits the child, that it has not been recalled or damaged and that it's installed correctly.

Safety technicians reminded parents that it's best to keep children in a car seat until they are at least 40 pounds, and to keep the seat rear-facing to prevent spinal injury in the event of a crash.

Miller said parents tend to move children out of the booster seat too early, because they focus on age instead of weight.

Another commonly forgotten rule, she said, is parents should not let children sit in the front seat until they are 13, when they are mature enough to sustain the impact of an airbag.

"A lot of this is just education of the parents and kids, and presenting information so they can make the best choices," Miller said.

She estimated 85 percent of seats checked were misused in some way, whether the harness was not tight enough or it was not installed correctly.

"We teach parents how to correct those misuses," she said.

Anthony Kuipers can be reached at (208) 883-4630, or by email to akuipers@dnews.com.