Area kids getting free bike helmets
Free bike helmets for area kids
Hundreds to be given away in drive to reduce injuries
Published 5:30 am, Thursday, October 2, 2008
There are lots of excuses for bicycling without a helmet. Helmets can be hot, uncomfortable or just plain uncool. But, safety experts say, there's an excellent reason to wear the protective headgear: It may safe your life.
Up to 88 percent of 67,000 head injuries suffered by bicyclists each year could be prevented through proper use of helmets, the Bicycle Safety Helmet Institute estimates. Two-thirds of bicycle accident deaths occur as result of head injuries.
Beginning Saturday in Huntsville, the Texas Medical Association and associated sponsors will distribute hundreds of free helmets to children and teens in the Houston area as part of its Hard Hats for Little Heads Program.
Free helmets will be distributed in Conroe on Oct. 10-12, Houston on Oct. 11 and Sugar Land on Oct. 25.
Texas Medical Association outreach director Tammy Wish- ard said 45,000 helmets have been given away in Texas since the program began in 1994.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that, on average, 80 children are killed annually in bicycle accidents. As many as 250,000 children under 16 are injured each year in bike mishaps.
"We see them every day," said Dr. Charles Cox, a University of Texas Medical School pediatric surgery professor who practices at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. "It's probably a self-evident truth: You're better off with a helmet than not."
Speaking for the medical association, Fort Worth pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. David Dona- hue said he has "seen patients arrive at the emergency room with shattered helmets, unscathed heads and big smiles. The helmet takes the hit, not the head."
Wishard said it's particularly important that helmets be properly fitted, and experienced volunteers at the helmet distribution centers will ensure that young bicyclists leave with headgear properly sized for maximum protection.
Wishard said helmets will be available to riders ages 4 to 16.
The safety helmet organization reports that the percentage of riders using helmets varies widely.
Up to 80 percent of middle-class riders use helmets, while as few as 10 percent of rural and inner city youngsters do. Overall, the group estimates a quarter of bicyclists routinely use the protective gear.