Summer is approaching, and with school out and the warm weather, it’s time to bring out the bicycles.

To keep kids, from small children with training wheels to teenagers, safe and injury free, we set out to find the best practices for bike riding.

Carrie Bennett, injury prevention program coordinator with the Utah County Health Department, offered a few key ingredients to bike safety.

“To be safe while riding a bike, one must obey all traffic signs and signals,” she said. “Bicyclists are not immune to the rules of the road.”

Bicyclists should remember that they are sharing the road with motor vehicles and pedestrians, and they shouldn’t ride dangerously. Using hand signals to let drivers know what you are going to do is helpful.

“When riding on the road, go the same direction as the traffic and stay to your right. Remember to ride single file, one behind the other,” Bennett said.

Orem police Officer Randy Clements said that it’s important to make eye contact with drivers when crossing roads or turning.

“People feel safe when they are in a crosswalk,” Clements said. “They feel like if they are between those two white lines they are protected.”

Clements said that cyclists need to be just as attentive when crossing in a crosswalk as they are when riding on the road with traffic.

Bennett said there are certain pieces of protective gear and clothing cyclists should have to stay safe.

First and foremost, is a properly fitted helmet.

“A helmet should fit snug on your head. The straps should be adjusted so that the helmet cannot be moved from side to side or back and forth,” Bennett said. “Allow about one finger width between the chin strap and the chin.”

A properly fitted helmet is important, even for children; Bennett said you want to take care that the helmet isn’t blocking their vision.

Besides a helmet, Bennett said protective clothing and proper shoes are a must.

“Flip flops are not good shoes to go biking in, and you’ll see children do that all the time,” Bennett said. Flip flops won’t protect your feet in case of a crash, and can cause feet to slip off the pedals.

If you are riding at night, bike lights and reflectors are a must. In some cities, including Provo, bike lights, not just reflectors, are required by law when riding in the dark.

So now that we have the protective gear, where should we ride?

“Bike lanes in certain cities make the roadways much safer and enjoyable for both the cyclist and driver,” Bennett said. “However, if there is not a bike lane, stay to your right, go with the flow of traffic, ride single file and use proper hand signals.

“Children should learn the rules of the road early. Most importantly, teach children not to dart out of driveways or between parked cars on their neighborhood streets. Drivers may not see them in time,” Bennett said.

For family outings on bikes, Bennett recommends the Provo River Trail and Hobble Creek, which have nice, paved trails for family outings.

For help with bike safety, Bell Sports bike helmets are available for purchase at the Utah County Health Department, Suite 2700 for $10. Multi-sport and adult sizes also are available. For help teaching bike safety, Bike Rodeo kit equipment is free to check out and utilize at your own community events, school PTA activities and Cub Scout pack meetings. Call (801) 851-7035 for more information.

Check out these upcoming bike events:

• Provo Bike to Work Day: Tuesday.

• Orem Bike to Work Day: Thursday.

• Road Respect Rally: This tour stops in Orem during Orem Summerfest on June 8 around 10:30 a.m. There will be activities the community is invited to participate in; for more details look for the Daily Herald’s upcoming coverage of Orem Summerfest.