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No ordinary bike cop here

By MARY ANN KOSLASKY
Published December 18, 2006

Not all of Santa's elves wear red coats and pointy shoes. Some of them don sheriff's green and combat boots.

But "I wear bike shoes when I'm wearing my skort," said Kris Reinhard, the official bicycle safety officer for the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

"Basically, I'm a teacher with a badge," said Reinhard, who oversees the bike safety program in the county's schools.

Working with physical educations teachers, Reinhard supervises programs that teach bike safety and the importance of wearing a helmet when riding.

"It's the law," Reinhard said.

Most parents and children are unaware that a rider younger than 16 not wearing an approved bicycle helmet can be ticketed.

"We don't want to do that," said Sgt. Ron Frink, Reinhard's supervisor. But "... it makes them think. They promise to wear their helmets."

Children receiving three tickets can find themselves unable to get a driver's permit until they are 21. "(Reinhard) is a super dedicated person," Frink said. "She lives and breathes bicycles."

Caring is another trait that Reinhard, 48, possesses.

Joined by her husband, Art, 46, and son, Scott, 17, she spends many free hours restoring donated bikes so that less fortunate students can have one.

Bikes for the school program are provided and maintained by the Sheriff's Office. Three years ago, PE teacher Diana Bandhauer saw a need to provide free helmets to the students.

"I started to ask the kids if they needed a helmet," Bandhauer said. "I ended up finding out that many of them didn't have a bike."

E-mails were dispatched, and 50 bikes showed up.

The next year, Reinhard cracked her electronic address book and asked if a bike was in her contacts' holiday plans. "Can I have the old one?"

More than 25 bikes were donated.

"Some of the bikes were impeccable," Reinhard said.

The tradition continues, but "finding the money to pay for parts" can be difficult.

But "there are so many people ... such needy families," Reinhard said. "If I can, I get them a bike and a helmet."

That gift also comes with a lesson in bike safety.

Reinhard has a few tips for parents who might be purchasing a bicycle as a holiday present.

First, be sure your children are ready to ride a bike.

If they seem hesitant, "don't push them."

Make sure the bike fits the child.

"It is best to get the child to sit on the bike with their feet flat on the ground," Reinhard said. "If they're on their tippy toes, they are more apt to fall."

And make sure that a helmet is included.

Then Santa - and Reinhard - can all have a Merry Christmas.

Bicycle regulations

- Bicyclists and passengers younger than 16 must wear an approved bicycle helmet in Citrus County.

- Bicyclists must ride in the same direction as traffic.

- Bicyclists must obey all traffic signs and signals.

- Bicyclists must use a fixed regular seat for riding.

- A bicycle may not be used to carry more people at a time than for which it is designed.

- A bicycle must have a working brake.

- At least one hand must be kept on the handlebars while riding.

- A bicycle ridden at night must have a white light in the front and both a red reflector and a red light in the back.

- A bicyclist must not wear a headset or other listening device while riding. Wearing a headset blocks out important sounds needed to detect other traffic.

- Parents or guardians must not knowingly allow a child to violate any provision of the bicycle statute.

infobox: Source: Citrus County Sheriff's Office  

[Last modified December 17, 2006, 20:32:35]