ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Using, Not Abusing, Your Head

Irvine Unified School District has come up with a good way to start getting children in the habit of wearing bicycle helmets, which are proven protection against head injuries and even death. The policy, which will be adopted in its final form Aug. 25, will require all elementary school children who ride bikes to school to wear helmets.

Irvine Unified, which has 6,500 students in 21 elementary schools, is the first district in Orange County to mandate helmets for its bike-riding students. If the program is successful, the district hopes to expand the requirement to higher grades. One middle school will try an experimental program next fall to see how older students respond.

The school board, in unanimously voting to impose a helmet requirement, wisely agreed to allow parents who object to the new policy to sign a waiver exempting their children. Though some view the waiver as a cop-out, it actually is a thoughtful way to avoid legal challenges. It also should defuse potential opposition from parents who don’t like being told what do, even if it’s best for children. The youngsters who disobey are likely to get a letter of explanation sent to parents.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the school district must make it easy to obtain a waiver. Parents who want to preserve the right to allow their children to ride bikes without helmets will need to meet with a school administrator first. And if some families simply can’t afford helmets, the district is developing a loan plan.

Half the battle with any safety device--just as with automobile seat belts or baby seats--is making them second nature to the user. But education and good example seem to go only so far. If past is prologue, at some point use of these devices must be required if they are ever to become part of a safety regimen. Somehow it also seems to make it a little easier if everyone must do it, especially when it comes to children, who are easily embarrassed by peers who ridicule helmets.

By being the first district to adopt a helmet policy, Irvine Unified is providing a model for other school districts in Orange County to follow.