NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — In response to a rise in cycling injuries and fatalities, Niagara County Legislator Christopher McKimmie is spearheading a community initiative aimed at improving biking safety.
His efforts led to a "Bike Rodeo," designed to educate local children about safe biking practices.
WATCH: Niagara County lawmaker launches bike safety initiative for kids amid rise in bike crashes
Statewide data reveals alarming trends: in 2022, over 7,500 bicycle crashes were reported, resulting in 50 deaths. Notably, more than half of those killed were not wearing helmets at the time of the accidents.
In addition to his county position, McKimmie is also a lieutenant at the Niagara Falls Police Department, and he has witnessed firsthand an uptick in cycling accidents.
"We always see more in the summer," McKimmie said. "It's when the weather is nice, and people have the windows down [on their car] and aren't paying attention as much."
The "Bike Rodeo" event aimed to instill essential safety skills in young cyclists. Through fun activities, children learn critical skills such as wearing a helmet, using hand signals, and understanding safe places to ride.
McKimmie is optimistic that educating children early on biking safety will have lasting effects.
"When you engrain that into them at a young age, it’ll go with them for the rest of their life," McKimmie said.
McKimmie told me he hopes to make these rodeos a yearly tradition, but he’s open to having another this year with enough interest from the community.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
