Bicycle Helmets - Be Head Smart About Bicycle Safety!

You can receive a citation for riding without a helmet. Please use your head and protect it with a properly fitted, snug helmet. Find/buy low-priced children's helmets.

Did you know that:

• One in seven children suffers head injuries in a bicycle-related accident.
• 75% of all cyclist's deaths involve head injuries.
• Bicycle helmets have been shown to reduce head injury by 85% and the risk of brain injury by 88%.
  - New England Journal of Medicine, 1989
• Surviving a head injury can be devastating physically, mentally, emotionally and financially.
• Victims are often never the same. Helmets can make a difference in the lives of your children!
  

Why children have more head injuries

• Their peripheral vision is only two-thirds that of adults.
• They have trouble judging speed and distance of oncoming vehicles.
• They have difficulty telling where sounds are coming from.
• They are easily distracted.
• They lack a sense of danger.
• They are often restless and have trouble waiting for traffic signals.

Helmets are designed to disperse and absorb the impact of a crash to the head. Consider these facts:

• An impact of 150 G's (a measurement of acceleration used to test impact) usually results in little or no injury.
• An impact of 150-200 G's causes a loss of consciousness and some amnesia.
• An impact of 1000 G's (which can result from a fall of just 3-4 feet) can cause serious brain damage or death.

A bicycle helmet can reduce this impact to 100 G's!

National Bicycle Safety Links

• Bike safety tips - from Washington State Department of Transportation
• Share the Road - from the League of American Bicyclists

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