Safety helmets are mandatory

Brig. Gen. Rosanne Bailey
435th Air Base Wing, KMC Commander

I want to remind everyone that it is mandatory for all U.S. personnel to wear helmets while riding bicycles or skateboards on any installation within the KMC.

All non-U.S. personnel are encouraged to wear helmets. I cannot require it, because German law does not mandate German nationals to wear helmets, but it makes good sense.
Please ensure that you, all your family members and guests are in strict compliance with these bicycle safety rules and enjoy your ride.

Bicycle safety rules:
All U.S. personnel, including servicemembers, civilian employees, dependents, contractors, retirees and guests, who ride bicycles and skateboards on a KMC installation must wear an approved bicycle helmet.

Supervisors of non-U.S. personnel who ride privately-owned bicycles on KMC installations should encourage personnel to wear bicycle helmets.

Everyone, U.S. or not, who operates government-owned bicycles will wear a bicycle helmet except on the flight line.

Bicycle safety tips:
Buy a helmet that bears a label saying it meets the American National Standards Institute standard Z90.40 1984; the Snell Memorial Foundation standard B 90, B 90S, N 94, or B 95; the American Society for Testing and Materials standard F 1447 93 or F 1447 94; or the Canadian Standards Association standard CAN/CSA D113.2 M89.

Wear the helmet flat atop the head. It should not be worn on the head tilted back at an angle.
Ensure the helmet fits snugly and does not obstruct the field of vision.

Always wear the helmet with the chin strap firmly buckled. No combination of twisting or pulling should remove the helmet from the head or loosen the buckle on the strap.

Do not use a helmet after it has been involved in an accident. Even very small cracks in the helmet may greatly reduce its effectiveness in preventing injury.

As a reminder, bicyclists are subject to the same traffic laws as motorists, e.g. equipped with mandatory items (light, taillight, bell or horn, etc.), obeying posted speed limits, right of way law, signaling, stopping at stoplights and signs etc.