States with Helmet Saftey Laws

How to wear a bike safety helmet correctly (PDF)

The bicycle injury death rate among children ages 14 and under declined more than 50 percent between 1987 and 1996. However, bicycles remain associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except the automobile. More than 70 percent of children ages 5 to 14 (27.7 million) ride bicycles. This age group rides about 50 percent more than the average bicyclist and accounts for approximately 30 percent of all bicycle-related deaths and more than 60 percent of all bicycle-related injuries.

Head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of bicycle-related death and permanent disability. Head injuries account for more than 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths, more than two-thirds of bicycle-related hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits for bicycling injuries. The single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet. Helmet use reduces the risk of bicycle-related death and injury and the severity of head injury when a crash occurs. Unfortunately, national estimates report that bicycle helmet use among child bicyclists ranges from 15 to 25 percent. Helmet usage is lowest (for all ages) among children ages 11 to 14 (11 percent). Bicycle education programs and mandatory bicycle helmet legislation are effective at increasing helmet use and, therefore, reducing bicycle-related death and injury.

PREVENTION TIPS

• A bicycle helmet is a necessity, not an accessory. Always wear a bicycle helmet every time and everywhere you ride.

• Buy a bicycle helmet that meets or exceeds the safety standards developed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission federal safety standard or those developed by ANSI, Snell or ASTM.

• Wear a bicycle helmet correctly. A bicycle helmet should fit comfortably and snugly, but not too tightly. It should sit on top of your head in a level position, and it should not rock forward and back or from side to side. The helmet straps must always be buckled.

• Learn the rules of the road and obey all traffic laws. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against; use appropriate hand signals; respect traffic signals; stop at all stop signs and stop lights; and stop and look both ways before entering a street.

• Cycling should be restricted to sidewalks and paths until a child is age 10 and able to show how well he or she rides and observes the basic rules of the road. Parental and adult supervision is essential until the traffic skills and judgment thresholds are reached by each child.