To the editor:

I have witnessed many children riding to school on the road this fall against the flow of traffic. This is an extremely dangerous practice and is against the Rhode Island DMV rules of the road for cyclists:

RIGL § 31-19-6  – "Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable. Bicyclists should travel in the same direction as the rest of the traffic."

Parents, please be sure your child is NOT riding against motor vehicle traffic on the street. While it may seem street riding facing traffic feels safer because oncoming vehicles can be seen, this sense of safety is proven wrong because the bicyclist's and driver's speed is added in a head-on "dead-stop" collision and much more likely to lead to severe injury or death than being struck from behind when the speed of the bicyclist is subtracted from the speed of the motor vehicle. 

On most local streets to and from schools, this means a head-on collision is a "dead-stop" going at or above 35 miles per hour. Consider the tragic outcome of a 3,000-6,000-pound car or truck hitting your child head-on. Another danger is when drivers often do not look for bicyclists coming against traffic when pulling out of a driveway. 

If your child has become used to riding facing traffic and nervous riding with traffic, please practice with them on the correct right side with traffic to allow them to overcome any hesitation.

Ken Horii

Barrington