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W h y ? ?

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend.

Most of the children I see riding bicycles are not wearing helmets.

If you’re the parent of a child that is riding their bicycle without a helmet, please let me know one simple thing -> WHY??

If your answer is, “I didn’t wear a helmet when I rode my bike as a kid”.

Wrong answer. You probably didn’t wear a seat belt either. Are your kids not wearing seat belts when they’re in the car? I bet they are. So why the double-standard on bicycle helmets?

I really hope the answer isn’t “My kids think they don’t look cool if they’re wearing a helmet” or “None of the other kids wear helmets”. Is the genuine safety of your child worth a vanity statement?

A few statistics:

A helmet can prevent 85% of head-related injuries in a bicycle fall/crash.
75% of the folks on their bikes that die each year die due to a head injury.

Do I need to keep going?

Seriously. What is your answer to this question.

I’m all ears…

Here is some additional information if you’re interested:
Bicycle Helmets for Children

Look forward to reading some comments. I really need to understand why 90% of the children I see out there are not wearing helmets.

13 Responses to "W h y ? ?"

Bill says:

September 7, 2008 at 2:10 PM

Neither of our boys are allowed on their bikes w/o a helmet and they know that their bikes will be locked up if used w/o a helmet. The pavement doesn’t care if you’re riding a motorcycle or a mountain bike or whatever; the pavement is the same and will cause brain damage just the same.

When I was in college, we had a student speak at one of our fraternity meetings. He explained that while riding his road bike he took a tumble and “looking cool” he wasn’t wearing a helmet. After many long months of rehab, he was able to walk (somewhat) again and to regain most of his normal functions again, but he will never be the same. He wasn’t in some horrible car accident, he didn’t have a massive stroke or anything, he just fell off his bike and hit the pavement.

As a mountain biker, I’ve replaced my helmet several times after smashing into trees, rocks, etc. The way I explained it to my boys is that if you knew exactly when you were going to crash, then you could choose when to wear your helmet. Since we can’t predict when we’re going to have an accident, we ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET, NO EXCEPTIONS, EVERY TIME. ANYTHING LESS IS UNACCEPTIBLE.
Bill says:

September 7, 2008 at 2:13 PM

As a follow-up to my soapbox comments, Kim and I wear our helmets too. It would be difficult to tell the boys to wear their helmets if we didn’t wear ours.
Ann Marie says:

September 7, 2008 at 6:00 PM

We don’t have children but I wonder if it’s an issue of complacency. When we engage in an activity repeatedly without incident we develop a level of comfort and, although perceived, a certain level of projected outcome for the next time we engage in that activity.

On 1604, it is sad but frequently I see risky behaviour by some motorcyclists, weaving in and out of traffic and riding between vehicles. Why they do this is beyond me and I can only assume they’ve done it before and “gotten away with it” so they do it again. Not too long ago I witnessed a man riding between vehicles and two days later read about a 27 year old man killed on 1604 while weaving between cars and wondered if it was the same person.

So with respect to the helmets, if there hasn’t been an incident I would assume the parent and or child does not deem them necessary. Why a parent would not enforce safety gear, however, I don’t know–are they even aware?

I might think, too, that the level of risk associated with driving a vehicle is seen as being greater than riding a bike which is why more folks buckle up vs. helmet up. We don’t witness bike accidents but we see plenty of car accidents that serve as reminders. It’s something I consider every time I’m behind the wheel of my vehicle but not necessarily my bike.

Just my 2 cents. And I hope this post serves as reminder to all riders regardless of age.
Insane Mama says:

September 7, 2008 at 6:50 PM

I’m guilty! Shameful I know, I tell them to wear their helmets, but I am NOT the helmet police, I need to work on it. The reason: Because I am not always around when they take off on their bikes
Justin says:

September 8, 2008 at 11:00 AM

I appreciate the honest commentary and perspectives shared so far! Thank you for chiming in on this topic. Hope others will do the same…
Richard Keatinge says:

September 8, 2008 at 1:25 PM

One reason could be that helmets demonstrably don’t work, and quite a few people are aware of this. See http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/332/7543/722-a or http://www.cyclehelmets.org/ if you want the academic side of the story, and Wikipedia has quite a good summary at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet.
Justin says:

September 9, 2008 at 12:11 AM

Thanks for the links Richard. I enjoyed reviewing much of the information presented. A central theme in most of this data revolves around the concept of mandatory bicycle helmet laws reducing the number of cyclists in general.

I’m, personally, not advocating that the government mandate that bicycle helmets should be required.

I am suggesting that bicycle helmets can and have protected riders from potentially serious head injuries in minor accidents. No one is suggesting that a bicycle helmet is going to do anyone much good if you’re plowed over by a car going 40mph.

I’d assume that most bicycle accidents are not of this catastrophic nature. They involve minor falls here and there and some of the evidence presented in the links you sent suggest that bicycle helmets afford a level of protection for these kinds of accidents.

Most notably, the links you sent would seem to suggest the obvious. Someone needs to do some direct, primary research on the relative safety afforded by modern bicycle helmets.

Period.

In the meantime, I’ll be strapping my bicycle helmet on for each ride and will continue to advocate the use of bicycle helmets.

Thanks again!
Justin says:

September 9, 2008 at 12:15 AM

While this is just a data point out there…a single story…it certainly would indicate that maybe, just maybe, bicycle helmets CAN protect your head!

http://spluch.blogspot.com/2007/05/bike-helmet-crushed-but-head-fine.html
David Hembrow says:

September 15, 2008 at 6:07 AM

Where people cycle all the time, helmets aren’t worn. This is what the school run to my local primary school looks like.

Helmets, fluorescents etc. are reactions to conditions. Where cycling is safe, people don’t wear them. However, they do cycle an awful lot more. On average, 1.2 journeys per person per day in this city.
Shannon (Geek Gal) says:

September 17, 2008 at 3:21 PM

I went to Google curious to see if there were any statistics on head injuries among cyclists in the Netherlands (where the previous poster's video is from). Haven't searched long enough to find any, but did find official position and reasoning behind it for the Netherland's rather unique approach to cycling safety (and by calling it unique I'm not minimizing it–I actually think it's the way to go, but also know it's not going to happen in the USA.) Link -> http://www.copenhagenize.com/2008/08/helmets-clever-dutch-and-arrogant-danes.html
Justin says:

September 18, 2008 at 1:23 AM

I've said it once and I'll say it again -> we need someone to do a real, quantitative study about the safety (or lack thereof) provided by a bicycle helmet. There is no denying that in bicycle friendly locales with hordes of cyclists there is a noticeable lack of helmet bearing riders.

That said, gravity and concrete is the same in the Netherlands as it is in the United States.

While I have gained an understanding from this thread that fear tactics and the like serves only to scare would-be cyclists, I'm still convinced that when I ride with a helmet I am safer than riding without one.

Please, someone do some research on this (btw, it's can't be research by Bell, or Giro, etc!)
Justin says:

September 18, 2008 at 1:27 AM

For example, in the article you posted Shannon it makes a statement that goes something like “Children under 14 have absolutely no need of a helmet but older teens may benefit from one.”

How in the HE** can someone make a statement like that without real data to back it up!!???

Perplexed but still wearing my helmet.
BeBe Blazfemi says:

September 18, 2008 at 5:03 AM

Here’s a study on why helmets aren’t nearly as effective, if at all, as people have been lead to believe.

If the helmet cracks, it didn’t save you, it FAILED.

Bicycle Helmets and the Mechanics of Head Injuries

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