Bike Helmets Save Lives

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“Dr. Johnston: I’m glad you had your helmet on.
Dane: Me, too.”

– Dr. Carden Johnston, ER Pediatrician, and Dane, Age 11, after a bicycle accident shattered Dane’s helmet

According to the latest research from the CDC, a large majority of kids rarely or never wear a bike helmet… known to reduce the risk of head injury by eighty-eight percent. Eleven-year-old Dane does, and it probably saved his life.

“They put me on a stretcher,” eleven-year-old Dane remembers, “they put on a neck brace, then they leveled my arm….It was just like, what’s gonna happen?”

It was a bicycle accident that landed Dane in the emergency room not long ago. Paramedics brought his shattered helmet with him to the ER. “Is this what’s left of your helmet?” asked ER Pedicatrician Dr. Carden Johnston. “I’m glad you had (it) on.”

“Me, too,” Dane said.

The accident left Dane with a broken arm and knocked out one of his teeth. But thanks to the now-shattered helmet, Dane’s skull was uninjured. Unfortunately, new research from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention confirms that almost 85 percent of kids who ride bikes rarely or never wear a helmet. When those kids come to the emergency room, the story is much different.

“They come in with deep gashes around their skull,” Dr. Johnston says. “Broken skull, brain damage and they more often have to stay in the hospital and hope their brain can repair itself.”

Bike helmets save lives. It’s a clear message, but parents and kids sometimes seem to be missing the message. Experts say parents must set strict rules: no helmet, no bicycle. No exceptions.

For Dane, wearing a helmet had become a habit. A habit that saved his life.

“Luckily that day,” Dane’s father says,” even though there wasn’t a parent there telling him to put it on, he put it on.”

What We Need To Know

According to the Children’s Safety Network, bicycle injuries and deaths affect children and young people more often than any other age group. In 2005, 44 percent of nonfatal bicycle injuries occurred in children and youth age 5 to 20. Also in 2005, children under age 15 accounted for 53 percent of bicycle injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms.

Children are more likely to die from motor vehicle-related bicycle injuries in the summer and in the late afternoon than at other times. They are much more likely to die in crashes in the middle of the street, on bike paths or on the sides of streets than at intersections. Head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of death and permanent disability. In fact, riders who don’t wear helmets are 14 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than riders who do.

Unfortunately, the CDC reports in its 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey that among the almost 70 percent of student who had ridden a bicycle during the 12 months before the survey, 84.7 percent had rarely or never worn a helmet.

The single most effective way to reduce head injury from bicycle crashes is to wear a helmet. . A single rule – wear a helmet – can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent. Yet, for a variety of reasons, it can sometimes be difficult to get children to wear helmets when riding their bicycles. Here are some suggestions from the National Safe Kids Campaign for ways that parents can get their kids to wear safety helmets more often:

  • Don’t negotiate. Make wearing a helmet a requirement.
  • Buy a helmet that meets or exceeds current safety standards developed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  • Correct fit is essential. Helmets should be comfortable and snug, but not too tight. They shouldn’t rock back and forth or side to side.
  • Make sure your child wears her helmet correctly – centered on top of her head and always with the straps buckled. Children who wear their helmets tipped back have a 52 percent greater risk of head injury than those who wear their helmets properly.
  • If your child is reluctant to wear her helmet, try letting her choose her own. Helmets come in many colors and styles – allowing children to choose a helmet that’s “cool” may make them less likely to take it off when you’re not around.
  • Talk to other parents and encourage them to have their kids wear helmets. Let your children see that you wear a helmet, too. Children are more likely to wear helmets when riding with others who wear them.

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