ids and bikes haven't changed much over the years. "But the world has," says Patti Rhynders, manager of injury prevention education and outreach at Children's Medical Center of Dallas and chair of the Dallas Area Safe Kids Coalition.

"There is so much more traffic on the roads today. People are driving more -- and driving faster -- with many distractions," Ms. Rhynders says. "Parents should consider the bicycle as a vehicle, not a toy. By law, bicyclists must obey the same traffic regulations as motor vehicle drivers. With that in mind, parents should take as much care in teaching children how to drive a bike as they will in teaching them how to drive a car."

Most of the time, when a bicyclist collides with a car, the bicyclist is at fault, says Ms. Rhynders. But that's of little consolation to a driver who injures or kills a child.

"Each of us, as drivers, could be in this position should a child on a bike dart out mid-block, ride against traffic or make an unexpected turn into the path of our oncoming vehicle," she says.

In 1997 in the state of Texas, 1,676 children were injured in traffic-related bicycle collisions. Twenty of those children died. In addition, many of the children who survive bicycle accidents are left with devastating, long-term mental or physical disabilities.

Head injuries are the most common cause of death and disability in these cases. Bicycle helmets have been shown to reduce the incidence of head and brain injury by 85 percent. But studies show few parents require their children to wear a bike helmet every time, every ride, with no exceptions.

Many parents underestimate the risk, and are surprised to learn that most bicycle injuries occur on neighborhood roads. Boys ages 6Ð15 years old are at greatest risk because they ride bikes more often and are more likely to practice risk-taking behaviors. Children often lack the ability to accurately judge the speed of an oncoming car, they don't have the same peripheral vision as adults, and they often think cars will automatically stop for them. Children may also be more easily distracted.

The Dallas Area Safe Kids Coalition recommends that before you let your children ride in the street, they should be at least 10 years old and able to demonstrate that:

	They know the rules of the road.
	They can ride straight.
	They use the brakes properly.
	They know how to swerve around hazards.
	They're on a constant lookout for traffic.