Safety
AROUND YOUR HOME

Use your head when bike riding: protect your brain

Each year, thousands of children are seriously injured from bicycle falls and crashes that could have been prevented. As children return to school, it's a good time for all bicycle owners, young and old, to review their safety habits and the bicycle traffic laws that may help prevent accidents.

Judy Taylor

One of those safety habits is to wear a bicycle safety helmet. Nobody expects to have an accident, but it is essential to have head protection in case you are involved in one.

"Road rash" and broken bones are painful, but head injuries can cause permanent brain damage. Seventy-five percent of all bicycle-related injuries and deaths are caused by accidents involving the head. Below is information from the Illinois Bicycle Driver's Guide, which can help you select a safe helmet.

A good bicycle helmet must absorb energy from an extreme impact. First, it must be a hard full-cover shell to be able to spread the impact's energy, lessening its effect. Second, a good helmet must have a liner made of stiff, non-springy foam to absorb shock. Third, the helmet must stay on your head. You need a strong strap and a good fastener. Children's helmets adjust to growing heads. All helmets should fit comfortably and not move around on the head.

There are standards that rate the best helmet performance. When you buy one, make sure that the helmet has passed the Snell Memorial Foundation Standard or ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards. These non-profit foundations conduct helmet research. Their sticker inside the helmet guarantees the helmet is the quality you need to protect you.

If you aren't convinced you should wear a helmet just to prevent head injuries, consider the following reasons:

• Visibility. You're easier to see with a big white or yellow headpiece on, especially at dusk, in rain or fog, or after dark. Helmets with reflective trim are even more visible.

• Emergency data. If you have a medical emergency condition you can put information on tape inside the brim of your helmet. It will be easy to find in case of an emergency.

• Climate control and protection. A helmet will keep the sun off your head so that your head will stay cooler in hot weather. The extra insulation of a helmet will keep your head warmer in cold weather. A helmet will also keep your head dry in rain and snow.

• Image. When you wear a helmet, motorists will expect you to ride correctly, since you will look like you have the brains you are protecting.

Other bicycle safety tips: • Always ride your bicycle in the same direction as other traffic. Stay close to the right edge of the roadway, except when passing or making a left turn. • A bicycle should only be used to carry the number of people it was designed and equipped for. If a bicycle has only one seat, only one person can safely ride on that bike. • Check to see if a bicycle is the correct size for the rider. The seat and handlebars may be adjusted to make the ride more comfortable. A bicycle that is too small or too large may also be unsafe. • When riding bicycles on the street, do not ride more than two abreast, except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for bicycle use. • Always keep both hands on the handlebars, except when signaling. Use a carrier or basket to carry packages. • Besides a helmet, wear light-colored clothing at dusk or night. A reflector or reflective tape will help make your bike more visible at night, but should be used in addition to the head and tail lights. • Always slow down and use caution at intersections and railroad crossings. Be aware of traffic behind you, as well as in front of you. • Watch for people getting in and out of parked cars, and for cars pulling into traffic. • When riding a bicycle never hold on to a moving vehicle or in any way attach the bicycle to the vehicle.

Judy Taylor is an extension educator, Youth Development, at the Springfield Extension Center.

14 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING SEPTEMBER 1999