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Bicycle Helmets (and for scooters & inline skates) |
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| Here’s a telling statistic: one child dies and 50 sustain brain
injuries every day from bicycle accidents. In about one out of four
cases, the child doesn’t have the simple protection provided
by a $20 riding helmet. Researchers say a public health campaign to get kids to wear helmets could greatly reduce head trauma from bicycle-related injuries. Interventions are often launched when a risk to public health is perceived, but my question is, how do officials decide what disease or danger to target? Some issues have gotten swift and decisive attention. When four children died from eating contaminated hamburgers in 1993, major changes were made in the inspection of meat and Congressional hearings were held on the subject. The same thing happened in 1997 after 48 children were killed by airbags. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration ordered modifications and launched a massive educational campaign to let parents know about the danger. As a commentary in the journal Pediatrics (July 1999) points out, in the case of bicycle helmets, there’s been a collective yawn from the public health community. I see most youngsters in the Thousand Oaks area wearing bike helmets, but studies show this isn’t true in most places. One survey put the helmet usage rate among children five to 14 years old at about 25 percent nationwide, according to the article in Pediatrics. Wearing a helmet is certainly a safety precaution we should all support. It would result in more lives saved and more injuries prevented than practically any other intervention I can think of in the health and safety field. Please also remember, if your child had had an accident and hit his or her helmet, you MUST replace the helmet. They are only designed to protect only once. |
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This site is for information only. It is not intended to replace consultation with your physician.