Car hits bike... spring in New England

[spazzdog]

Just watching the local news and they showed a 12 yr old being airlifted to the hospital after being it by a car.

Seemed like a residential area, but if its anything like my neighbor hood, the kids zip all over the road, between the car and NEVER wear helmets.

Hope this little one ends up being OK. As of the news report, no charges had been filed on the driver.

spazz

[Irulan]

we had not one but two bike/kid incidents yesterday. The 15 year old girl who was riding on the wrong side of the road with no helment did not make it.

Irulan

[joyrider]

I live right by a middle school and I can't believe how many kids are riding (on the wrong side of the road, talking to their friends) without helmets, or, my favorite, wearing the helmet on the back of their head with the straps hanging loose to look cool!
If I were their mother, I would take their bikes away!

[spazzdog]

I don't understand why they don't just make a law... preferably a federal law that states "under 16 helmet required". Put it out there like a child protective thing and what legislator would have the cojones to vote nay.

I know they won't pass one for adults because adults are supposed to have common sense... heck NH doesn't require motorcyclists to wear helmets; which I think is soooooo stupid. Been there, done that (when I was 18-19) and now I go on the "sweat is cheaper than skin grafts" theory.

spazz-bouncing off the little soapbox

[Barb]

The kid across the street from me was hit by a car. He was not wearing a helmet and at the hospital he recieved a gift of THREE new helmets. His mom says "I just can't get him to wear one, even now". I just smiled and told her I knew how to lock bikes up for riders who couldn't bother with a helmet. Shesh I was mad at her. BE A PARENT>>>ENFORCE A RULE.

Ok, I'm calm again.

[spazzdog]

Warning... generalization to follow.

Why is it, our "baby boomer" generation, felt the need to give our children control of their lives and by extension the lives of the parents. No rules, rationalizing with the screaming 2 yr old, not locking up the bikes if no helmet firmly on head.

Not to sound like my parents, but if I didn't follow the rules I didn't get to play... period. Subsequently I learned at a very early age respect, reliability, consequences, responsibility and a few other important social skills.

I don't have children, but I tell you this from my heart... if my kid got on a bike or a skateboard or skates without a helmet, it would be a long time before they ever saw those toys again.

Of course, I'm all for taking jr. high school kids to the morgue to view what guns do to a human body to perhaps prevent a bit of the schoolyard shootouts.

call me crazy; just don't call me late for dinner.... spazz

[RoadRaven]

Hi there... the wearing of cycle helmets has been a legal requirement here for everyone on a bike for a few years now, and has greatly reduced head injuries in our hospitals

I guess it was easy to introduce because the wearing of helmets on motorcycles has been law for years and years.

RR
Aotearoa New Zealand

[singletrackmind]

Yep. We've got the 'don't even let me catch you simply sitting on your bike without a helmet' rules. I've taken bike priviledges away for days just for doing the above. It's my goal to make it very clear that bike=helmet at ALL times. I've only had to take the bike away once. This, of course, goes for skates and scooters as well.

Also, many of the communities in our county are passing helmet laws-parents get fined but it gets waived if they show proof of an ansi approved helmet.

Hey! Check me out!
http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=79182
click on the 'click here to play video'.
The goal was to emphasize that bicycles were for everyone and that you don't need to spend a ton to ride bikes (says the chick on the $3000 bike). Well, you don't really, do you, just to get out with the family or friends and ride?

I'm the chick in the orange and blue flame jersey, green mtn bike and baby trailer attached. They do show my name, but not under the right face. Pat ended up with her name under my face. Ha! Yeah, that's me with the scary voice (is it really that high??) and all the eyebrows. They let me say my bit about helmets!!

Ok, quit laughing!

The guy doing the interview showed up with a borrowed bike and NO helmet and all of us in the group ganged up on him and MADE him wear one. Luckily I had my silver road helmet in the car and it fit him. The cool thing was that when he did the intro part of the story live he found another helmet to wear (we weren't there anymore). Good for him!

[Irulan]

I don't understand why they don't just make a law... preferably a federal law that states "under 16 helmet required". Put it out there like a child protective thing and what legislator would have the cojones to vote nay.

I know they won't pass one for adults because adults are supposed to have common sense... heck NH doesn't require motorcyclists to wear helmets; which I think is soooooo stupid. Been there, done that (when I was 18-19) and now I go on the "sweat is cheaper than skin grafts" theory.

spazz-bouncing off the little soapbox

there are lots of laws. but are cops going to sit around the skate park and write no helment tickets, or are they going to look for criminals. In this town, forget the enforcement. Even with laws, the local paper still regularlary does recreation shots without helmets.

And I'm with all the other parents on this board. I really wonder about those that don't enforce it at home.

We have the bonus of having lots of real life experince with what happens without helmets due to our Ski Patrol work. Lots of good real life examples every single winter weekend

penny

[chelle]

I spend a lot of time, especially in the spring at the local skatepark. I fly around on my bmx and occasionally I even fall down but that's ok because I've got my helmet, my knee pads and my elbow pads. When I started riding bike's back in the days of disco, helmets were not what they are now. Back then we used motorcycle helmets because all of the styrofoam helmets that we got broke. My parents rule was, no helmet= no bike.

I'm amazed that when i go to the skatepark, I'm usually the only one wearing a helmet. Sometimes an "old guy" who has to show up at work the next day will wear one too. The bmx'ers as well as the skaters and the rollerbladers never wear one. If you ever see a BMX video, no helmets. What kind of example are these "pro" riders setting for the kids that want to be like them.

I have a friend who suffered a serious head injury and he's never been the same since. He was one of those "it'll never happen to me type's". It's never a matter of if your going to crash, it's only a matter of when. Where I'm from it's the law to wear helmet's on bikes yet I've never seen anyone out enforcing it.

I now spend most of my time in Colorado and I was just stunned when I saw people riding motorcycles here without helmets. It's crazy. Perhaps these nutbars should have to visit the head injury clinic before they decide to not wear a bucket. I just get really irked when I see kids without helmets on.

I did an interview for a Canadian news channel and after the interview they asked to get some footage of me just riding around. I didn't have a helmet so I refused to ride on camera without one on.

I hope I'm still on topic, I feel better now.

[massbikebabe]

Spazz,

I do think here in Mass. there is a law requiring children to wear helmets. I think it was wrote in with the car seat till 40 pounds thing. Anywhoo, I agree with you completely and have raised my kids much like your momma and daddy raised you. Many of the kids I see have what I call PDD, or in lay mans terms, Parental Deficit Disorder. My kids look at me in fear when another kid pulls crap at the store that they knew they would never have gotten away with. Now that they are teenagers they often make comments like "Look at that little brat, Mom would have him by the ear right now!"

karen

ps- someday you have to come to Worcester and meet my kids...they are a hoot!

[LBTC]

[QUOTE=Irulan]there are lots of laws. but are cops going to sit around the skate park and write no helment tickets, or are they going to look for criminals. In this town, forget the enforcement. Even with laws, the local paper still regularlary does recreation shots without helmets.
/QUOTE]

Doesn't that just frost your cookies? I see red when I see those pictures! It's completely irresponsible for them to print those!!

yeah, in BC there's a helmet law too. and we have bicycle cops. and I've seen bicycle cops ride right past riders not wearing helmets and not even say something, let alone issue a ticket. and they didn't look like they were in a hurry chasing criminals. it's a shame it's not enforced.

fact is, though, we need parents doing their jobs.

is there enough room on this soapbox for all of us?

namaste,
~T~

[LBTC]

I did an interview for a Canadian news channel and after the interview they asked to get some footage of me just riding around. I didn't have a helmet so I refused to ride on camera without one on.

Yay, Chelle! you rock, girl! The more I read of what you've got to say, the more I like ya! You're heads in the right place.

so why did you have your bike and no helmet? just curious...

well, I've got a new helmet on order now, after the trail goddess sent me a message....those little cracks don't look like much, but it's definitely time for another one!

cheers!
~T~

[spazzdog]

Maybe a few of those "splat" commercials... "your brain on drugs"

or PSA's by riders who went sans helmet and are now sans mobility...

or by parents who discovered the dangers of not enforcing the wearing of a helmet the day little johnnie/susie got clipped by good old neighbor bob down the street. Now they're sans johnnie/susie.

harsh yes... aimed at parents would it work?? you tell me.

[nuthatch]

Sometimes I wish I could lock the HELMET to their heads!

With little guys, it's easy to lock up the bike and refuse to start the car if helmets or seat belts are not in place. It just takes a bit of backbone on the parents part. We've all had to do it.

With the older kids, you can make sure they've got the helmet on when they leave the house, but you can't control whether it stays on once they're out of sight. Some of those kids you see riding around (the older ones) have just ditched the helmet somewhere so they aren't seen by their friends looking uncool. It's not an issue of parental control, it's an issue of being asinine at the 13-18 age range.