Pure Parents

Question:

My children had to wear helmets while riding their TRICYCLES.  There were two reasons for me instituting the "helmet rule’ as this early stage. 1.  Tricycles can get going pretty fast and a fall from one can result in head trauma (I spent a week in the hospital with a concussion and other injuries when, as a four year old, I was racing my trike as fast as I could get it to go and hit one of those rain-gutters that were notched  into the sidewalk.  I hit that "ditch" and went flying off my trike and into the street, landing head first. 2.  I wanted my kids to get into the "helmet-habit".  I wanted them to associate riding with helmet-wearing as a matter of course.  When they got their trike, they got a helmet and to this day, when on their fancy two-wheelers,  always wear it without complaint.  (Once, my eldest started riding her bike without the helmet.  When I noticed this, the ‘no-helmet and your bike’s in the garage for a week rule" was instituted.  She’s never forgotten again.) ~Jan P.S.  I don’t make the kids wear helmets when they are on the mini-wheels.  They are closer to the ground on a mini-wheel than when they are standing up and they don’t go very fast, so I feel a helmet is not necessary in that case.  In all other cases, skates, roller blades, trikes, bikes, etc, a helmet in an absolute must.

Response:

Avery, as someone who lives in Ontario, where we have mandatory bike helmet laws for children, you outta know better. You are full of it!! Ask any ICU doctor about the number of children he sees with serious head injuries from bike accidents. The numbers are way, way down from what they used to be, both deaths and debilitating injuries, and helmets are the reason. We also have socialized medicine, so when you smack your head in a bike accident and do yourself a brain injury riding without a helmet, I will get to pay for your stay in emerg, your time in the ICU, rehab and all the time you will spend warehoused in the chronic care home. Just can’t wait!! Are you sure you already didn’t fall on your noggin? Mary G. Mother of 3.

Response:

> P.S.  I don’t make the kids wear helmets when they are on the > mini-wheels.  They are closer to the ground on a mini-wheel than when > they are standing up and they don’t go very fast, so I feel a helmet is > not necessary in that case.  In all other cases, skates, roller blades, > trikes, bikes, etc, a helmet in an absolute must.

Helmets are good, I insisted on them from their trike days, and also when they are skating (where they stick out and we always have issues, one reason we don’t skate much ;-(  ). I managed to get a fine concussion, WEARING a helmet, falling off a non-moving bike.  I swear, I should have gotten the Nobel Prize in Just-Plain-Dumb for that one. I was dismounting my bike, over balanced, fell backwards, and struck my head, JUST below the helmet line, on the lip of a stone step.  This happened, btw, well into adulthood. So it pays to not be a stupid clumsy clod, even when you ARE wearing a helmet Enid

Response:

My husband has been waiting for a kidney for 3.5 years – the more people that don’t wear a helmet while on a bike the better for us – I’ve heard people on bicycles without helmets referred to as donorcycles by those in the field. So, Mr. Burdett – please make sure your organ donor card is signed before your next bike ride – who knows, the life you save may be other peoples. Heidi

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Avery, as someone who lives in Ontario, where we have mandatory bike helmet > laws for children, you outta know better. You are full of it!! Ask any ICU > doctor about the number of children he sees with serious head injuries from > bike accidents. The numbers are way, way down from what they used to be, both > deaths and debilitating injuries, and helmets are the reason. > We also have socialized medicine, so when you smack your head in a bike > accident and do yourself a brain injury riding without a helmet, I will get > to pay for your stay in emerg, your time in the ICU, rehab and all the time > you will spend warehoused in the chronic care home. Just can’t wait!! > Are you sure you already didn’t fall on your noggin? > Mary G. > Mother of 3.

As a fellow Ontariarioian I must applaud!  My taxes are high enough thank you very much, and I don’t feel like paying for some law breaking noodle who breaks his noodle for not using…his noodle — Paige GO LEAFS!!! proud to be Outlandish I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a  vegetarian. (to e-mail double the p and take out the "reston")

Response:

> My husband has been waiting for a kidney for 3.5 years – the more people > that don’t wear a helmet while on a bike the better for us – I’ve heard > people on bicycles without helmets referred to as donorcycles by those in > the field. > So, Mr. Burdett – please make sure your organ donor card is signed before > your next bike ride – who knows, the life you save may be other peoples. > Heidi

So Heidi, with helmet legislation in effect in Australia and New Zealand and no evidence of any change in the rate of head injury for cyclists in seven years, you think you know better? What do you base your views on and please don’t tell me you "believe". Billy Graham "believes".  Why not be honest and say you’ve been led to think they save lives, and say it’s possible you’ve been misled. Concerning my organ donor card, I was cycling decades before American marketing folk invented the bicycle helmet and started to scare parents into believing cycling is dangerous. (I commute, I tour and I race on a bike.) No activity is without risk, but serious cycling head injuries and deaths are rare. Less than 1% of all US traumatic brain injury (TBI) deaths result from cycling, and bicycle helmets won’t reduce that percentage. Organs come mostly from car and other motor vehicle users who suffer over 50% of all TBI deaths. So if you think a helmet makes a difference wear it in your car …..    ……but instead of believing in fairy tales, go find out the facts for yourself. Start at:    http://www.global.net/ocbc … and link to lots of other research. You can still wear your helmet but at least you’ll be a lot better informed on how limited its effectiveness is. Avery Burdett

Response:

> Avery, as someone who lives in Ontario, where we have mandatory bike helmet > laws for children, you outta know better. You are full of it!! Ask any ICU > doctor about the number of children he sees with serious head injuries from > bike accidents. The numbers are way, way down from what they used to be, both > deaths and debilitating injuries, and helmets are the reason.

Instead of making such claims, cite the numbers along with figures for head injuries to children who suffered them while walking too so they can be examined. I’ve looked at such claims and the don’t stand up to scrutiny. See my review of Statistics Canada report <Canadian Government Massages the Statistics> at:   http://www.global.net/ocbc/StatsCan.html There has been no decrease in cycling fatalities in Canada attributable to helmet use. I’ve also carried research on that using statistics from Transport Canada. The trends charts are on:   http://www.globalx.net/ocbc/fatals.html > We also have socialized medicine, so when you smack your head in a bike > accident and do yourself a brain injury riding without a helmet, I will get > to pay for your stay in emerg, your time in the ICU, rehab and all the time > you will spend warehoused in the chronic care home. Just can’t wait!!

This is a specious argument. How many head injuries are incurred by:   car use?   walking?   falling down stairs   taking a shower? Cyclists are way down the list. Again we deal with this with facts and our bicycle helmet FAQ. Also your conclusion implies helmets work the way the public perceives them to. This basis is myth. > Are you sure you already didn’t fall on your noggin?

This is the typical insulting attitude of those who don’t care enough to find out the facts. > Mary G. > Mother of 3.

Response:

> >There is no proof a helmet ever saved the life of a child. > As a pediatric ER nurse at a level one trauma center, I have taken care of many > minimally injured children who had helmets on and seen the imapct the helmets > have taken as evident by deep cracks in the shell.  I also have seen the impact > the skull has taken when no helmet was worn—as evident by deep cracks in the > skull.  You take your pick which you would prefer your child have. > Jackie RN CEN > Single mom to Kaitlin

My original post referred to kids getting killed from helmet use while not on their bikes. Serious head injuries to kids (and concussion not just skull fractures) occur far more frequently while off their bikes. Every activity has risks, there’s no cycling epidemic. And until someone discovered a new market, cycling was a harmless activity (it still is in Europe where paranoia is less likely to be exploited). Based on your observation, it would suggest that kids should wear helmets all the time. Is that what you suggest? That’s not what the CPSC suggests. BTW, child helmets manufactured to American standards (which are designed for adult heads) are far too stiff and permit too much shock to pass to the head of a child in an impact. Softer but thicker helmets would reduce this and reduce (theoretically) the incidence of concussion. But fashion comes before function in such instances. Avery Burdett Ottawa, Ontario The Bicycle Helmet FAQ at:    http://www.global.net/ocbc/hfaq.html

Response:

This is an example of how silly people get over so called safety equipment. If people jump off a six story building do you tell them next time wear a safety harness? Do you give the keys to your 16 year old child for his/her first drive in the family car before having taken driver’s ed and say "here go for a drive, and don’t forget to fasten your seat belt"? Nobody wants to commit suicide, (and besides there’s nothing in this story which tells us a helmet would have made a difference). What wuld have made a difference would have been: 1. Parental supervision 2. Instruction on how to behave on our roads (cycling or otherwise). The scary thing about this story is that the parent was a teacher! Get a clue folks. Safety equipment, specially a bicycle helmet, is not a substitute for sensible behaviour. Jan’s looking for a panacea. She won’t find it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Also, if a helmet is loose enough to slip off a child’s head, it is too > loose to properly protect a child in a collision. > Helmets SHOULD be worn.  AND, they SHOULD be worn properly. > MY story….. when I was in high school, I was in the car with my mom. > I saw my  teacher’s 11 year old son riding his bike all over the road. > He was weaving back and forth, not looking where he was going, and NOT > wearing a helmet.  I told my mother that I thought we should inform his > parents that he was riding his bike that way.  My mother thought we > should mind our own business.  Two weeks later, the same boy was hit by > a car while riding his bicycle.  He had massive head trauma, was in a > coma for 3 months, and today, 17 years later cannot live on his own.  He > has no short term memory to speak of, has difficulites with motor > coordination, and depends on others for his daily existence.  He does > hold a part-time job loading the washing machines in a nursing home. > When his parents are no longer around, the responsiblity of caring for > him will fall to his younger sibling.   All that could have been changed > by the simple act of wearing a helmet properly.  Also, I will NEVER EVER > AGAIN keep my mouth shut when I see this type of dangerous behavior.  I > have called friends to let them know that their child was riding his > bike without his helmet and weaving back and forth across the road > without even checking for traffic.  I phoned another friend about a > similar circumstance.  And my neighbor’s son got so tired of hearing the > above story, he finally started wearing his helmet just to keep me from > telling the story to him again.  I have always wondered if telling my > teacher would have made a difference in his son’s actions.  I will > forever regret not doing so. > HELMETS SAVE LIVES>>>> and HELMETS SAVE QUALITY OF LIFE. > ~Jan

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> P.S.  I don’t make the kids wear helmets when they are on the > mini-wheels.  They are closer to the ground on a mini-wheel than when > they are standing up and they don’t go very fast, so I feel a helmet is > not necessary in that case. >  In all other cases, skates, roller blades, > trikes, bikes, etc, a helmet in an absolute must. > Helmets are good, I insisted on them from their trike days, and also > when they are skating (where they stick out and we always have issues, > one reason we don’t skate much ;-(  ). > I managed to get a fine concussion, WEARING a helmet, falling off > a non-moving bike.

This points out one of the shortcomings in helmet design and testing. The helmet’s liner is very stiff, so before it starts to crush, the head absorbs energy up to around 180 – 200g’s of deceleration, sufficient to give you the concussion. In the lab test procedures, the foam liner crushes – up to a limit of 300g’s. If the head has not stopped by then, the blow is fatal. The range of effectiveness is very narrow and medical professionals feel the lower threshold of 200g’s is too high. > I swear, I should have gotten the Nobel Prize in > Just-Plain-Dumb for that one. I was dismounting my bike, over > balanced, fell backwards, and struck my head, JUST below the helmet > line, on the lip of a stone step.  This happened, btw, well into > adulthood. > So it pays to not be a stupid clumsy clod, even when you ARE wearing a > helmet

Change of behaviour is a far superior method of injury avoidance. The range of impact where a helmet works is so limited as to make them virtually ineffective. Avery Burdett Ottawa, Ontario > Enid

Response:

I took a peek in deja news and can’t find anything regarding parenting that you have posted anywhere.  Are you even a parent, or are you just a bicycle troll? — Paige GO LEAFS!!! proud to be Outlandish I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a  vegetarian. (to e-mail double the p and take out the "reston")

Response:

First of all, let me say I have done very little reading or research about bike helmets. All I know is I have ridden for years (main form of transport until age 18, averaged 10 miles a day.) and I never wore a helmet. What I have noticed since the big push for helmets started is more and more kids thinking they are invincable. They seem to weave in and out of traffic more, they are biking on the busiest streets in town (where most parents when I was a kids would never have let their kiddos on the bikes.) I have even asked my neighbors, "did you know Johnny was riding down ABC street today?" and the answer was "It’s okay, he had his helmet on." I think helmets are great in certain areas. My girls wear them when riding on the back of mom & dad’s bikes, and if ever outside our small enclosed neighborhood. I just don’t like being told I have to wear them, or make my kids wear them. That’s just one more freedom of choice being taken away. Liz

Response:

I hope this means your organ donor card is signed. I appreciate it. If you wish to cycle without a helmet – feel free. I just hope that you & anyone you convince to cycle without a helmet has a signed donor card – even if only 2 people die a year due to bicycle crashes, that’s still 4 kidneys, 4 lungs, 2 hearts, 2 livers etc. I went to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute website (www.bhsi.org) & according to the statistics published by the Insurance Institute for Highway safety, less than 2% of traffic accidents involved bicyclists. The following is directly from their website: " 808 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 1997. This is 6 percent more than in 1996 but down 19 percent since 1975. Ninety-seven percent of bicyclists killed in 1997 reportedly weren’t wearing helmets. " Heidi

Response:

Mr Burdett: I’m curious – are you against people wearing helmets, or against laws requiring people to wear helmets? Are you against Government mandating how we protect ourselves and our family? Or just hate helmets? Just curious Heidi

Response:

I have to agree.  No one should be on a bike without a helmet.  For my daughter’s birthday last year we bought her a two-wheeler w/ training wheels.  Also bought a helmet.  When she was out riding she hit a spot of uneven pavement and wound up flipping the bike and she went over the handlebars.  Her helmet got quite a few scrapes and one crack.  I would much rather those scrapes and crack be on the helmet than her head!!  A similar situation happened a few years ago…a friend of mine was in the hospital for a 4wheeler wreck (he was wearing a helmet).  There was another kid that came in who got hit by a car and went flying head first into a curb…no helmet.  He died.  He might still be alive had it been for a helmet the docs said.  Much rather have those cracks in a replacable helmet than in an irreplacable head.  :) Lisa Mom to Kelsey (2) — Visit my website… http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Bluffs/9283/

Response:

Also, if a helmet is loose enough to slip off a child’s head, it is too loose to properly protect a child in a collision. Helmets SHOULD be worn.  AND, they SHOULD be worn properly. MY story….. when I was in high school, I was in the car with my mom. I saw my  teacher’s 11 year old son riding his bike all over the road. He was weaving back and forth, not looking where he was going, and NOT wearing a helmet.  I told my mother that I thought we should inform his parents that he was riding his bike that way.  My mother thought we should mind our own business.  Two weeks later, the same boy was hit by a car while riding his bicycle.  He had massive head trauma, was in a coma for 3 months, and today, 17 years later cannot live on his own.  He has no short term memory to speak of, has difficulites with motor coordination, and depends on others for his daily existence.  He does hold a part-time job loading the washing machines in a nursing home. When his parents are no longer around, the responsiblity of caring for him will fall to his younger sibling.   All that could have been changed by the simple act of wearing a helmet properly.  Also, I will NEVER EVER AGAIN keep my mouth shut when I see this type of dangerous behavior.  I have called friends to let them know that their child was riding his bike without his helmet and weaving back and forth across the road without even checking for traffic.  I phoned another friend about a similar circumstance.  And my neighbor’s son got so tired of hearing the above story, he finally started wearing his helmet just to keep me from telling the story to him again.  I have always wondered if telling my teacher would have made a difference in his son’s actions.  I will forever regret not doing so. HELMETS SAVE LIVES>>>> and HELMETS SAVE QUALITY OF LIFE. ~Jan

Response:

wisdom, writ: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Also, if a helmet is loose enough to slip off a child’s head, it is too >loose to properly protect a child in a collision. >Helmets SHOULD be worn.  AND, they SHOULD be worn properly. >MY story….. when I was in high school, I was in the car with my mom. >I saw my  teacher’s 11 year old son riding his bike all over the road. >He was weaving back and forth, not looking where he was going, and NOT >wearing a helmet.  I told my mother that I thought we should inform his >parents that he was riding his bike that way.  My mother thought we >should mind our own business.  Two weeks later, the same boy was hit by >a car while riding his bicycle.  He had massive head trauma, was in a >coma for 3 months, and today, 17 years later cannot live on his own.  He >has no short term memory to speak of, has difficulites with motor >coordination, and depends on others for his daily existence.  He does >hold a part-time job loading the washing machines in a nursing home. >When his parents are no longer around, the responsiblity of caring for >him will fall to his younger sibling.   All that could have been changed >by the simple act of wearing a helmet properly.  Also, I will NEVER EVER >AGAIN keep my mouth shut when I see this type of dangerous behavior.  I >have called friends to let them know that their child was riding his >bike without his helmet and weaving back and forth across the road >without even checking for traffic.  I phoned another friend about a >similar circumstance.  And my neighbor’s son got so tired of hearing the >above story, he finally started wearing his helmet just to keep me from >telling the story to him again.  I have always wondered if telling my >teacher would have made a difference in his son’s actions.  I will >forever regret not doing so. >HELMETS SAVE LIVES>>>> and HELMETS SAVE QUALITY OF LIFE. >~Jan

Jan: What a sad story!  Tales such as these are the reason we hope to move to a *very* small town by the time Andrew is in school; the kind of town where everybody knows everybody else’s kids, and there’s no way for the children to get into mischief without *somebody* getting that information back to the parents. That’s the kind of town I grew up in, and I’ll tell ya, I sure towed the line… As for your guilt, while I understand why you would feel that way, you have to recognize that it may not have made a difference at all. By educating people as you’ve just educated this group, you are making a tremendous difference, and that boy’s tragedy, horrible though it was, can hopefully protect other children from the same fate (or worse). Kathleen    "If sense were common, more people would have it." — Me ICQ# – 33613577 **Spam Trap** Accentuate the Positive to send e-mail.

Response:

> : There is no proof a helmet ever saved the life of a child. There > : is undeniable proof that helmets have killed eight kids.

We have a neighbor whose 8 year old was hit by a car and thrown into the windshield.  His helmet cracked down the middle; he had a mild concussion and was badly bruised and had a couple of broken ribs.  what evidence would it take to convince you that he was better off with a broken helmet than having his head take the full force of that impact? We know two adults who were hit by cars while riding with helmets — both were knocked out, and suffered extensive ‘helmet damage’ — one is still a practicing physician and the other a computer programmer — which beats the alternative which might be sitting in a chair and drooling in front of ‘The Price is Right’ all day. In each of these three cases, the bike rider was not at fault — cars ran stop signs etc — but it doesn’t matter who had the right of way when your head slams into the concrete.

Response:

I have flipped over my bars off-roading and broken 2 helmets.  I have broken zero heads.   – Ron Low Levity is the dearth of gravity.  Brevity is the height of clarity.   non-commercial e-mail always welcome Allow 2 days for replies

Response:

>As a pediatric ER nurse at a level one trauma center, I have taken care of >many >minimally injured children who had helmets on and seen the imapct the helmets >have taken as evident by deep cracks in the shell.  I also have seen the >impact >the skull has taken when no helmet was worn—as evident by deep cracks in >the >skull.  You take your pick which you would prefer your child have. >Jackie RN CEN >Single mom to Kaitlin

I am also a nurse and I have worked in the radiology department of a children’s hospital that was a trama center.  I cannot tell you the times I have heard an ER say, "You should see the helmet.  I am so glad that kid was wearing one."  I know of one kid who took his helmet back to school to give a little talk on helmet safety.  He had a bicycle vs minivan accident.  His helmet was caved in on one side.  Could he have given that talk if that had been his head?  I don’t think so. Amy RN Mom to Alec

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Last month the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Council issued >a press release warning parents to ensure their children >remove their bicycle helmets when off their bikes. >This followed the death of a York, Pennsylvania child who >was strangled by the helmet straps when his helmet got >jammed in a play structure. There have been six child deaths >in Sweden and one in Canada involving bicycle helmets >in similar incidents recorded. >An absurd situation now exists in jurisdictions with child helmet laws. >Parents are forced by law to make their kids wear helmets while cycling, and >are forced by common sense to make them remove their helmets as soon as they >are off their bicycles! >There is no proof a helmet ever saved the life of a child. There >is undeniable proof that helmets have killed eight kids.

My response to this is that this poster needs to reread the opening of his post Last month the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Council issued >a press release warning parents to ensure their children >remove their bicycle helmets when off their bikes.

It is not the bicycle helmets which caused the injuries/death to these children.  It’s the parents who did not properly educate and/or supervise these children.  A bicycle helmet is intended to be used while riding a bicycle, not–as in this case–while climbing on a jungle gym!

Response:

After I posted my note, I decided to vist your web page, and read your "FAQs."  I find it very interesting that your special interest group includes the URL to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration home page, as "support" for your claims that that helmets aren’t helpful. Not surprisingly, the NHTSA does not at all support your claims.  In fact when I did a search on "bicycle helmets" I found the document below. I feel that your group is spreading misinformation and endangering children in order to further your cause.  I can understand resenting laws that force you to protect yourself (I for one resent my own government’s laws requiring all motorists to wear seatbelts–yet I always wear one, and think it’s generally stupid not to do so. My four-year-old stepson has never ridden in a car without a carseat.  However, the decision to protect myself should be mine, not my government, especially since my decision in the long run does not impact others (I know people would argue this). However, you should use arguments that make sense–like it’s a matter of personal liberty. In the long run, you’ll lose respect if you continue claiming that that there is no evidence that helmets save lives.. I found one other important statistic–in 88.5% of all bicycle crashes (including involvement with and without cars) requiring hospitalization, the victim was not wearing a helmet.  That seems pretty telling to me. Cathy W. January 1998 Bicycle Helmet Use Laws Contents        Key Facts        Legislative Status        Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Laws: A Summary        Cost Savings        Who Supports Bicycle Helmet Use Laws?        Information Sources Bicycle Helmet Use Laws The United States Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety dministration (NHTSA) supports the enactment of bicycle helmet usage laws. Bicycle helmets offer bicyclists the best protection from head injuries resulting from bicycle crashes, and bicycle helmet laws have been proven effective in increasing bicycle helmet use. Key Facts        Almost 44,000 bicyclists have died in traffic crashes in the United States since 1932-the first year that bicycle fatality estimates were recorded.   In 1996, 761 bicyclists were killed, and approximately 59,000 were injured in traffic-related crashes. Children ages 14 and under accounted for 223 (29%) of  these fatalities, making this one of the most frequent causes of injury-related death for young children.        Each year almost 400,000 children ages 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries. Universal bicycle helmet use by children ages 4 to 15 would prevent 39,000 to 45,000 head injuries, and 18,000 to 55,000 scalp and face injuries annually.        Bicycle helmets are 85-88 percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries, making the use of helmets the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes.        Despite the fact that 70 to 80 percent of all fatal bicycle crashes involve head injuries, only 18 percent of all bicyclists wear bicycle helmets.  Nationally, bicyclists ages 14 and under are at five times greater risk for injury than older cyclists .        As with safety belts, child safety seats, and motorcycle helmets, the enactment of laws requiring the use of bicycle helmets, along with education and visible enforcement, is likely to be the most promising way to increase bicycle helmet usage. Legislative Status        The first bicycle helmet law was passed in California in 1986. This law was amended in 1993 to cover all children under age 18.   As of September 1997, 15 states have enacted age-specific bicycle helmet laws. Most of these laws cover bicyclists under age 16.        On June 16, H.R. 965, the Child Safety Protection Act of 1994, was passed. It requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to develop a  mandatory bicycle helmet standard.   The CPSC published a proposed rule on August 15, 1994, requesting comments on a proposed bicycle helmet standard that includes requirements specifically applicable to children’s helmets, and requirements to prevent the helmets from coming off during a crash. Pending issuance of the CPSC standard, bicycle helmet manufacturers are required to conform with existing voluntary performance standards, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI),        American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Snell Memorial Foundation. Source: BSHI, Check with your state bicycle and pedestrian coordinators for county, city, and local bicycle helmet laws. Cost Savings        The estimated cost of bicycle-related injuries and deaths (for all ages) is $8 billion.        It is expensive to treat bicycle-related head injuries because these injuries can endure throughout a lifetime.        Every $10 bike helmet saves this country $30 in direct health costs, and an additional $365 in societal costs. In fact, if 85 percent of all child bicyclists wore helmets every time they rode a bicycle for a year, the lifetime medical cost savings would total $109 to $142 million. Who Supports Bicycle Helmet Use Laws?        American Academy of Pediatrics        American Automobile Association        Brain Injury Association        Centers for Disease Control        Consumer Product Safety Commission        Health Resources and Services Administration        Little League Baseball        Major League Baseball        National Football League        National Safe Kids Campaign        National Safety Council        Snell Memorial Foundation Information Sources A Case Control Study of the Effectiveness of Bicycle Safety Helmets. Thompson, Robert S., Frederick P. Rivara and Diane C. Thompson. New England Journal of Medicine, 1989. A Case Control Study of the Effectiveness of Bicycle Safety Helmets in Preventing Facial Injury. Thompson, Diane C., Robert S. Thompson, Frederick P. Rivara and Marsha E.  Wolf. American Journal of Public Health, 1990. Bicycle-Associated Head Injuries and Deaths in the United States from 1984 through 1988. Sacks, Jeffrey J., Patricia Holmgren, Suzanne Smith and Daniel M. Scain.  Journal of American Medical Association, 1991. Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Use: The Victorian Experience. Vulcan, AP., Cameron, MH., and Watson, MH. World Journal of Surgery, 1992. Bicycle Helmet Laws and Educational Campaigns: An Evaluation of Strategies to Increase Children’s Helmet Use. Dannenberg, Andrew, et al, 1993. Bicycle Use and Hazard Patterns in the United States.  Rodgers, Gregory. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC, 1994. Mandatory Helmet Wearing for Bicycle Riders. Parliament of Western Australia, 1994. Injury Control Recommendations: Bicycle Helmets.  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control, 1995. Mandatory Helmet Laws: A Summary. Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, BHSI home page web: www.helmets.org, 1997

: : There is no proof a helmet ever saved the life of a child. There : : is undeniable proof that helmets have killed eight kids. : Ummm…There is lots of proof that helmets save the lives of children AND : adult bicyclists.  I can’t remember the URL, but find the US Highway and : Traffic Safety home page.  Most often helmets don’t prevent head injuries, : rather they lessen them.  Would you rather your child have a fractured : skull and serious brain damage, or merely a minor concussion?  And : often, the do out and out prevent a head injury. : As for the 8 kids, do you really have so little understanding of : statistics that you think this really poses a risk?  In the US, 16 kids : per year die from swallowing common household cleaners.  The number of : kids who die in car accidents is way, way, way higher (over 1000). : The number of kids who ride bikes number in the 100s of thousands.  Lets : say the number of kids who die because they wore helmets is 10, and that : 100,000 kids ride bikes and wore their helmets (this is not far off from : the actual figures).  That means one in 10,000 kids will die from wearing : their helmets. Hmmm…we allow our kids into much more dangerous : situations than that all the time (like riding in a car or playing : baseball). : I’m NOT saying we should allow our kids to run around in helmets when they : are not riding.  That would be silly.   : Cathy W. : : More on this together with access to CPSC’s press release at: : :     http://www.globalx.net/ocbc : : And the Helmet FAQ at: : :     http://www.globalx.net/ocbc/hfaq.html : : Avery Burdett : : Ottawa, Ontario

Response:

>There is no proof a helmet ever saved the life of a child.

As a pediatric ER nurse at a level one trauma center, I have taken care of many minimally injured children who had helmets on and seen the imapct the helmets have taken as evident by deep cracks in the shell.  I also have seen the impact the skull has taken when no helmet was worn—as evident by deep cracks in the skull.  You take your pick which you would prefer your child have. Jackie RN CEN Single mom to Kaitlin

Response:

: There is no proof a helmet ever saved the life of a child. There : is undeniable proof that helmets have killed eight kids. Ummm…There is lots of proof that helmets save the lives of children AND adult bicyclists.  I can’t remember the URL, but find the US Highway and Traffic Safety home page.  Most often helmets don’t prevent head injuries, rather they lessen them.  Would you rather your child have a fractured skull and serious brain damage, or merely a minor concussion?  And often, the do out and out prevent a head injury. As for the 8 kids, do you really have so little understanding of statistics that you think this really poses a risk?  In the US, 16 kids per year die from swallowing common household cleaners.  The number of kids who die in car accidents is way, way, way higher (over 1000). The number of kids who ride bikes number in the 100s of thousands.  Lets say the number of kids who die because they wore helmets is 10, and that 100,000 kids ride bikes and wore their helmets (this is not far off from the actual figures).  That means one in 10,000 kids will die from wearing their helmets. Hmmm…we allow our kids into much more dangerous situations than that all the time (like riding in a car or playing baseball). I’m NOT saying we should allow our kids to run around in helmets when they are not riding.  That would be silly.   Cathy W. : More on this together with access to CPSC’s press release at: :     http://www.globalx.net/ocbc : And the Helmet FAQ at: :     http://www.globalx.net/ocbc/hfaq.html : Avery Burdett : Ottawa, Ontario

Response:

Last month the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Council issued a press release warning parents to ensure their children remove their bicycle helmets when off their bikes. This followed the death of a York, Pennsylvania child who was strangled by the helmet straps when his helmet got jammed in a play structure. There have been six child deaths in Sweden and one in Canada involving bicycle helmets in similar incidents recorded. An absurd situation now exists in jurisdictions with child helmet laws. Parents are forced by law to make their kids wear helmets while cycling, and are forced by common sense to make them remove their helmets as soon as they are off their bicycles! There is no proof a helmet ever saved the life of a child. There is undeniable proof that helmets have killed eight kids. More on this together with access to CPSC’s press release at:     http://www.globalx.net/ocbc And the Helmet FAQ at:     http://www.globalx.net/ocbc/hfaq.html Avery Burdett Ottawa, Ontario

Response: