A Cycle of Unnecessary Injuries : State action is needed to help localities protect children on bikes

There is little disagreement that helmets help prevent serious head injuries and even deaths among bicyclists. Getting people in the habit of wearing them is a different matter.

Many bicyclists find it hard to believe that a serious accident could happen to them, or they resist being told what to do. A lot of youngsters have a social reason: They think bicycle helmets just don’t look cool.

Some cities, including Newport Beach, have strong programs to encourage bicyclists, especially schoolchildren, to wear helmets.

Such efforts are punctuated tragically--if predictably--with accidents that call attention to the peril of riding without head protection. A few weeks ago, 12-year-old Justin Jeffrey Welter of Mission Viejo died of head injuries suffered when his bicycle collided with a car just a block from his home. Since his death, his parents have joined efforts to get children to wear helmets.

These efforts would be helped by a bill now before the state Legislature. The measure, carried by state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), would allow cities and counties to fashion ordinances requiring bicyclists to wear helmets.

Currently, California does not allow a local authority to change the state vehicle code, which includes bicycle safety rules, because of a policy aimed at keeping the code uniform throughout the state. Bergeson’s bill, which is being amended this week to apply only to children 16 and younger, would allow an exception to this policy.

The California Assn. of Bicycling Organizations has expressed concern that if adults were required to wear helmets, serious bicyclists who cross many city boundaries might be faced with many different rules. But that’s not a major concern for children, who ride mostly near home.

Bergeson’s bill is a step in the right direction, considering that in 1990 alone roughly 15,000 out of 16,000 bicycle injuries in California involved riders not wearing a helmet, according to the California Highway Patrol.

As with seat belts, baby seats and motorcycle helmets, new regulations may help prompt increased use of a proven safety device.