Bike Helmets - Cyclists - Fail to use them at your peril ! Prevent / Protect adults & children from head/brain injury!

"Protect your children and yourself from the devastating and life altering consequences of a brain injury." by: Rose Keith, BA JD, Vancouver BC personal injury lawyer

Summer is a time when the kids spend their time outdoors and with school being out, they have plenty of time. If your kids are anything like mine, they are spending a lot of their time riding a bike. I am always surprised at the number of riders I see in Vancouver NOT wearing helmets. Helmets are essential to the safety of bicycle riding.  In BC, all cyclists are required by law to wear an approved helmet.  Without a helmet there is nothing to protect you from a head injury and head injuries are a devastating, lifelong and life changing injury.

Statistics Canada reported that in 2009 only 36.5% of bicycle riders reported regularly wearing a bike helmet while riding a bike.  Adolescents were found to use bike helmets only 30.6% of the time.  A Canadian national study demonstrated that head injury rates among child and youth cyclists were approximately 25% lower in provinces with helmet legislation compared to provinces without legislation and helmet usage varied accordingly.

Not all provinces in Canada have mandatory helmet use legislation. ; In 1996 British Columbia became the first Canadian province to enact a law mandating helmet use by bicyclists of all ages when riding on a public roadway.  British Columbia has a higher rate of helmet usage than the national average at 58.8%.

Cyclists are among the most vulnerable users of our roads.  A large majority of bicycling deaths and disabling injuries result from head injury.  Approximately 75% of all bicyclist fatalities and two-thirds of hospital admissions for bicycling injury involved head.  Approximately 90% of bicyclists who die from head injuries are injured in a collision with a motor vehicle.

A properly fitted helmet helps protect the brain from absorbing the force from a crash or fall, decreasing the risk of serious head injury by as much as 85%. This means that four out of five head injuries could be potentially prevented if every cyclist wore a helmet. Helmet use can help prevent or limit the impact of head injuries. Another study found that helmets reduce the risk of head or brain injury by at least 70 percent and injury to the upper or mid face by 65%.

Here are some guidelines to ensure that a bike helmet will provide you with the highest level of protection possible:

1. Ensure that your helmet is one that has been certified to meet the uniform safety standard - it will have a seal confirming this.  Your helmet should have CSA, ANSI, ASTM or SNELL standards approval clearly designated on it.  Hockey or other types of sport helmets are not legal for cycling.  This is because they are designed and tested for other types of impacts.

2.  Take the time to make sure that the helmet fits properly:

2a. Size - the helmet should fit snuggly and shouldn’t rock from side to side when it is sitting flat on the top of your head;
2b. Position - the helmet should sit level on your head and low on your forehead, one or two finger widths above your eyebrow;
2c. Chin strap - the chin strap should be tightened until you can fit no more than one or two fingers under the strap.

3.  Replace any helmet that has been involved in a crash or is damaged;

4.  A helmet should be replaced every five years regardless of whether it has been in a crash or not. Pollution, UV light and weathering can damage the components over time and lessen the effectiveness of the helmet.

5.  The helmet should fit now, not be a helmet that you can “grow into”;

6.  The helmet should feel comfortable.

Protect your children and yourself from the devastating and life altering consequences of a brain injury.  Every step that you can take to prevent brain injuries from happening should be taken and a significant step towards this is ensuring that a proper fitting and appropriate bike helmet is worn at all times when bicycling.

Article author: Rose Keith, LLB, former President of the B.C. Trial Lawyers Association, and well known Vancouver personal injury lawyer www.rosekeith.bc.ca - first published 2012.07.12 in smart phone optimized BCpersonalinjury.org

For information on motorbike / motorcycle accidents and personal injuries, contact the author of the above article Rose Keith, who in 2008 was the President of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC - at www.rosekeith.bc.ca

Rose Keith Trial Lawyer
1486 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 3J6
Phone:  604-800-4319
Toll Free: 888-893-6134
Web site:  www.rosekeith.bc.ca

1. Report to police and ICBC
2. Meet with a lawyer and an ICBC claims adjuster
3. Negotiate with ICBC
4. Lawyer assesses your case and files a lawsuit
5. Set the trial date
6. Pre-trial examinations and exchange of documents
7. Trial
8. Appeals