A curious anomaly in Australian traffic law is that mature adults are required to be licenced before getting into a motorvehicle full of safety features but children are allowed to go out amongst the traffic on a totally unprotected pushbike without any training.
At a bare minimum parents should ensure that children who ride pushbikes know traffic laws and the meaning of signs. They should also ensure that children on bikes are as visible as possible. Pushbikes are very small and thus harder to see than other vehicles. Bikes should therefore be a light colour with a white headlight and front end reflector, a red tail light and rear reflector, wheel and pedal reflectors, and a flourescent flag. Clothing worn by riders should increase their visibility. Therefore it should be light coloured or reflective- including the helmet. Naturally adults who themselves ride a pushbike should also observe the above precautions.
Incidents involving pushbike-motorvehicle collisions are usually caused by the bike rider. Specifically, ignoring other vehicles, veering to the wrong side of the road, and losing control of the bike are behaviours responsible for many collisions.
Therefore the fundamental rule for avoiding collisions is to keep control of the bike and not erratically move into the path of other vehicles. The use of arm signals can help make pushbike riders' actions more predictable to other road users.
Because pushbikes don't have any indicator or brake lights it is essential that bike riders signal with their arms when they are going to turn or stop. The following arm signals should be used:
right turn: right arm extended parallel to ground
left turn: left arm extended parallel to ground
stop: hand up with arm bent at the elbow
Occasionally pedestrians are injured or killed due to a collision with a pushbike. Therefore bike riders need to appreciate the danger they can pose to pedestrians and be aware of situations where pedestrians might get in their way. In some situations a warning signal with the bell is appropriate.
Bike riders need to realize that neither reflective clothing, nor hand signals, nor any other road safety tips can guarantee that they will be noticed or understood by other drivers and riders. Therefore it is essential that they appreciate their vulnerability and look at the drivers of vehicles (unless this would increase risk) to make sure they are seen and understood before taking any action that will put them in the path of another vehicle.
Also pushbike riders need to become just as cautious as other motorvehicle drivers and riders. Although pushbike enthusiasts claim that riders are misunderstood and are generally already cautious, they are clearly incorrect. Obviously, if the riders were being cautious they wouldn't cause most of the accidents.
Finally, roads were previously a haven for pushbikes and horses and carts. However, the modern Australian road environment is mainly designed with motorvehicles in mind. It is not a safe place for horses and carts or pushbikes. Therefore it is essential that governments provide bike paths if they are going to allow this form of transport to proliferate.