Injury Prevention

Hats On for Safety

Bicycle helmets can prevent 85 percent of cyclists’ head injuries.

Parents’ positive attitude to bicycle helmet use was the strongest predictor of children having a helmet.
–“Why teenagers owning a bicycle helmet do not use their helmets.” Lajunen T, Rasanen M. J Safety Res 2001 32(3): 323-332.

Set an expectation (and an example) in your family for wearing helmets every time you bicycle. To further reduce the risk to your child:

Make sure the helmet is a good fit: level on your child’s head, touching on all sides; and snug but comfortable. The fastened helmet should not move more than an inch in any direction on your child’s head.
Helmets must stay on even if hit more than once, so be sure it has a strong strap and fastener. Test this by trying to pull the fastened helmet off your child’s head (without hurting).
Replace a bicycle helmet after an impact since the material from which helmets are made does not recover.
Standards are no longer a big issue in the US market, but check inside for a CPSC sticker.

Last Update
March 11, 2008

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