Bicycle Helmets - Pro And Con

     Many communities are currently debating whether to make the use of bike helmets mandatory. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the use of bike helmets for all children.

     If you are involved in a serious biking accident, the statistics clearly show that your head is likely to sustain injury. 75% of deaths from bicycle accidents are the result of head trauma. But what has to be taken into account is the risk of having a serious accident. If adults are riding at slow speeds on a designated bike trail, a loss-of-balance accident would probably only result in scrapes and bruises. It could easily be argued that helmets wouldn’t be necessary in this circumstance. If one is riding a bike on a city street or at higher speeds, the risk of head injury and death goes up dramatically. Children have little fear of accidents, don’t observe their surroundings carefully and usually ride at speeds that exceed their ability, so they also have a high risk for serious injury .

     Few people would argue against wearing a life jacket when waterskiing. We all know that, if an accident occurred, the skier could go under water and not surface again. If a parent saw their child getting ready to water ski without a life jacket, there is no question that the child wouldn’t be allowed to do it. However, that same parent might watch the child go out of the driveway on his bike and, with a frustrated smile, say, “ I just can’t get him to wear his helmet.” If you can insist that the child uses the life jacket, you can insist that he wears the helmet.

     On a controlled bike path with little or no fast bikers, the adult might choose not to wear the helmet. If you are biking with your child, don’t worry about being inconsistent – grown-ups do lots of things that children are not allowed to do. It is all right for the parent to say, “When you are grown up, you can decide whether you want to ride a bike without a helmet. Now you are a child. You can still decide whether you want to wear a helmet or not, but not wearing a helmet means not riding the bike.” But it might be better to just wear your helmet, skip the discussion and enjoy the day with your child.