Organizations Join to Urge Young Bicyclists to Wear Safety Helmets

Be a trend-setter. Outfit your kids with bicycle helmets.

If the organizations behind the push to put children in bicycle helmets have their way, one day it will be as routine for children to put on helmets as it is in many families to snap on seat belts in the car.

It took many years for the public to insist that children be strapped in while in the car--and the job still isn’t done. We can expect to hear more and more about the importance of helmets for cyclists as organizations launch public awareness campaigns. But while the rest of the country is taking its time, why put your child at risk?

Both you and your child may consider a helmet unnecessary and nerdy, but consider a few statistics from the National Coalition to Prevent Childhood Injury based in Washington: In 1987, 400 child cyclists (ages 14 and younger) died in collisions with motor vehicles and about 37,000 child cyclists were injured in collisions with motor vehicles. More than 380,000 children are injured in bike-related incidents each year.

Boys are injured twice as often as girls. One in seven children suffers head injuries in bike-related incidents; 75% of all cyclist deaths involve head injuries.

If statistics seem meaningless, think of the last time that you heard of a child in your area who died in a bicycle accident.

“We want to get to the point where parents don’t send out kids on bikes without a helmet,” said Kathryn Kincaid of the National Coalition to Prevent Childhood Injury.

Children should wear a helmet whenever they ride a bike.

“We’re not just dealing with collisions with cars. Little kids sometimes don’t pay attention to where they’re going,” Kincaid said. “They hit trees, manhole covers, bumps on the road, on the sidewalk.”

Bicycle helmets have become more sophisticated and appealing in the last several years, said Linda Tracy of the Bicycle Institute of America in New York. Manufacturers are well aware of the youth market and are making helmets in snazzy colors.

Prices generally range from $25 to $70, although mass merchandisers may offer them at lower prices. Bicycle shops are likely to have the best selection.

A helmet, which comes with sizing inserts, can often be used for four or five years, Tracy said. But if there is a fall and the polystyrene liner absorbs significant impact, the helmet has to be replaced. Some manufacturers will do an inspection of helmets whose effectiveness is questionable, she said.

Any helmet you buy should carry a seal of approval from either the Snell Memorial Foundation or the American National Standards Institute. The Snell standards are stricter.

The helmet should fit snugly but be comfortable. Adjust and fasten the straps so that the helmet covers the top of the forehead. It should not be pushed back or forward. No combination of twists or pulls should allow you to remove it.

The Head Smart Coalition--a project of the National Head Injury Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Bicycle Foundation of America--offers this advice on getting children to wear helmets: Begin the helmet habit with the first bicycle. Let your child pick out the helmet. Insist that the child wear the helmet. Praise and reward the child for wearing the helmet. Wear a helmet whenever you ride. Encourage other parents to buy helmets.

The National Coalition to Prevent Childhood Injury says most children’s bicycle accidents result from four errors: riding into the street without checking traffic, false assumptions and risky behavior at intersections, making turns without signaling or checking traffic, or riding against the traffic.

Children need safety education, and parents need to think hard about whether a child is ready to ride in traffic. But even outstanding skills are not sufficient protection.

“If parents are going to do one thing to make kids safer on a bike, it’s to get them to wear a helmet,” Kincaid said.