Light and reflectors on the bike. She should have many choices of brighter non-black clothes.

She should get off the bike when using the crosswalk on the busy street. Drivers don't see bikes as easily as they see pedestrians. I don't recall why, but it is a real thing.

Anonymous wrote:I just want to be clear, because I am still confused.

She would be riding in town, where it is safe. Then at the edge of town, where the road becomes a 4 lane highway, she would cross at a light and then ride the rest of the way on the sidewalk?

Yes, I would feel safe with that.

By four lane highway so you mean like RT 50 through Arlington or Rockville Pike? There are sidewalk the whole way?

Anonymous wrote:You are completely insane.
The reason kids have so much anxiety is because their parents don't give them any leeway to do MILDLY dangerous things to build their confidence. A 16 yr old can go ride a bike and figure it out. Toss her a helmet and move on with life. Surely you see how nuts it is that a teenager who drives has a mommy calling a gym to ask about crossing the street?

Drivers are all on their phones watching TikTok. OP is right to be cautious about biking in traffic. If the sidewalk for the 4 lane road is a solid option, she can navigate like a pedestrian, and it’s okay but assume drivers are not paying attention.

Anonymous wrote:She will make friends and be getting rides to the gym in no time.

No cars or Ubers allowed

She will make friends and be getting rides to the gym in no time.

I just want to be clear, because I am still confused.

She would be riding in town, where it is safe. Then at the edge of town, where the road becomes a 4 lane highway, she would cross at a light and then ride the rest of the way on the sidewalk?

Yes, I would feel safe with that.

Odd autocorrect. She should also have awareness…

The only thing I would stress is people turning right as she comes up in their blind spot. It’s a very common accident pattern. She should also have Wesson’s this as a driver in a high bike use area.

Other than that, she sounds ready. You’d be amazed how much more careful kids are when they are not managed by a parent or distracted by a peer.

Anonymous wrote:
The reason kids have so much anxiety is because their parents don't give them any leeway to do MILDLY dangerous things to build their confidence.

SO true.

Anonymous wrote:Is this in daylight

Yeah. It's daylight.

Maybe it's unfair to drop in now... but my father was killed on a bike on a similar sized road. So while i usually follow instincts, mine are a bit skewed on this.

But this girl has a ton of freedom day to day. She's a bit of a homebody by nature, but she can share the car almost whenever she likes, so we aren't exactly holding her back. No tracking, no texting, just a general ... tell us when you will be back and keep your phone on for emergencies.

Is this in daylight