Helmet Rant

[Aint Doody]

I just have to rant. I was in my car the other day and saw a mom with her 2 children out on bicycles. Both children were wearing helmets and the mother wasn't. What kind of message is that sending to her children???? I would put a letter to the editor in our paper, but I'm about to put one in on a different topic and don't need to be known as the mean, ole b*%ch of Eastern Oregon.

OK--now I feel better. I've told some people who care.......

[Meg McKilty]

Try being out riding yesterday to see three young boys riding bikes, no helmets, in main traffic barely looking where they were going (they almost ran into me at an intersection- I was going straight, they were turning), only one even looked at a four-way stop to see if cars were coming from either direction.

Of course I screamed, "Wear HELMETS!!" I was infuriated.

[Deanna]

Besides being a bad example, you have to wonder who's going to take care of the kids if the parent suffers a major brain injury.

[RoadRaven]

Glad I'm not the only one who tells other cyclists to wear helmets... or to do their helmets up :mad: they mayaswell not be wearing one either!!!

[Mr. Bloom]

What kind of message is that sending to her children????

You've just described how the Silver family looked for many years when the kids were young. Here's why:
- we weren't serious cyclists, never went fast, and rarely left our street
- we were abiding by the law, which required children to wear helmets
- we were not concerned about the theoretical risks, since we never pushed the envelope.
- we didn't want to mess up our hair.

In other words, we neither knew better nor cared about the risk. We used the same rationalizations to justify not wearing seat belts as well - but I changed my mind on that 21 years ago...didn't need a seat belt law to convince me....

Today, I see some serious looking cyclists around Bloomington that are dressed to the tee, clipped in and helmet-less! I immediately classify them as non-serious cyclists and occassionally, I remind them that helmets are a good idea.

[HoosierGiant]

Unfortunately, too many people subscribe to the I-don't-ride-fast-enough-to-need-a-helmet philosophy.

Every potential cyclist should be required to read Dangerous Decision: The Consideration for Helmet Use at Any Speed by J. Raleigh Burt, an 8th grader who earned 1st place in the Junior Division of the 2005 Colorado State Science Fair.

To quote:

"From the height of a recreational riding position, a simple tip-over fall can create enough speed and energy to cause substantial damage to the human head and brain. In other words, it is the height of the potential fall and not just the speed the cyclist is traveling where the threat of injury exists....

The results from the experiment showed that the velocity, force, and energy created in a simple tip-over fall onto a hard surface are more than great enough to cause a serious head and/or brain injury to a cyclist not wearing a helmet. Even collisions with softer surfaces produced potentially hazardous forces."

http://www.stevespangler.com/wp-content/RaleighBurtProject2005.pdf

[maillotpois]

Holy cow - that's a pretty impressive 8th grade report!!!

[onimity]

I totally agree. To me parents that don't wear a helmet set a bad example for their kids. It's like saying: "You need to wear this because you are a kid. It's not necessary when you grow up." Kids learn by example more than anything else.

When I see a family out riding and the parents aren't wearing helmets I usually slow down and say something, to the kids if I can, like "that's a pretty/cool helmet, I hope your mom/dad gets one like it." I am usually very much a live and let live sort of person and to me if you don't wear a helmet you live with the consequences. I choose to wear one, others can do as they please. But when it comes to parents setting a bad example for kids, I can't shut my trap.

That said, it's something we see rarely here. There are so many good parents that do a great job of teaching their kids good safety habits and trail etiquette. It's too bad that not all parents understand the dangers of riding without a helmet and how their actions may appear to their kids.

Anne