Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Arizona

Insane Comic Books Warn Phoenix Children That Biking Will Kill Them

This comic book was produced by the Phoenix Street Transportation Department to warn young children about the dangers of not wearing a helmet. Retrieved from the Arizona Republic
This comic book was produced by the Phoenix Street Transportation Department to warn young children about the dangers of not wearing a helmet. Via The Arizona Republic
This comic book was produced by the Phoenix Street Transportation Department to warn young children about the dangers of not wearing a helmet. Retrieved from the Arizona Republic

Hey kids, the Phoenix Department of Street Transportation has a fun message for you: Riding your bike is likely to result in a gory horror scene. If you don't wear your helmet, of course.

This is the cover of a comic book being distributed to third and fourth graders in Phoenix.
This is the cover of a comic book being distributed to third and fourth graders in Phoenix.
This is the cover of a comic book being distributed to third and fourth graders in Phoenix.

That's the gist of an over-the-top "bike safety" comic book that has alarmed parents of third and fourth graders in Phoenix. The comic shows a cyclist with his brain exposed and blood dripping down his skull on the cover. The inside is equally horrifying, conjuring a world where kids get run over and lose the use of their legs because they pop wheelies.

The books were produced by the Phoenix Street Transportation Department with a $18,700 grant from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. An illustrator hired by the transportation department explained to the Arizona Republic that they were meant to scare children into wearing helmets.

Helmets can protect against head injuries in the event of a crash or fall, but the idea that helmet use is the one true answer for bike safety is cartoonishly simple.

Gory comic books about bike helmets are not the kind of thing you see in places with excellent bike safety records. It is basically an admission that public agencies have failed to create safe streets and an indictment of the prevailing safety culture.

At a time when kids are developing chronic disease at an alarming rate thanks in part to the lack of physical activity, Phoenix is sending the message that something as normal as riding a bike will cause you to resemble an extra from the Walking Dead.

635967461555959517-Legs

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: The London Neighborhood Where Bikes Outnumber Cars

...and how they got to that impressive milestone.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Battle Galactus

Like the Marvel supervillain, U.S. interstate highway system seems to eat up everything in his path. A new book explores how to stop it.

July 11, 2025

New Report Shows Pedestrian Fatalities Drop — But Experts Say Not Enough

The Governors Highway Safety Association report showed a 4 percent drop in the number of pedestrian deaths last year, putting a slow on a dangerous trend — but advocates say the drop isn't nearly big enough.

July 11, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Localities Subsidize the State DOT

Adie Tomer of Brookings on how to improve regional coordination around infrastructure.

July 10, 2025

Five of the Ugliest Transportation Policies In the ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill

Here's a rundown of some of the transportation provisions in the Republicans' reconciliation package, and what they might mean for your community.

July 10, 2025

Viva La Thursday’s Headlines

Why is French transit ridership up 10 percent since before the pandemic, while American transit ridership is down 23 percent?

July 10, 2025
See all posts