Bicycling Statistics and Safety Advice

• Children between five and fourteen years of age have the highest injury rate of all bicycle riders, and bicycle accidents are the leading cause of death in this age group, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• One in seven children suffer head injuries in bike related accidents.
• Each year, bicycle crashes kill about 900 people; about 200 of those killed are children under age 15. Each year, about 567,000 people go to hospital emergency departments with bicycle-related injuries; about 350,000 of those injured are children under 15. Of those children, about 130,000 suffer head injuries

Kids and adults alike should wear helmets while biking because.......

• Seventy to 80% of all deaths from bicycle wrecks are due to head injuries, and about 900 Americans die each year as a result.
• More people die from bicycle wrecks than accidents involving poisoning, firearms, falls and suffocation combined.
• Simply wearing a helmet reduces the risk of brain injury by 88%.
  

The Trauma Services of St. John's Mercy Hospital believes that wearing a helmet is not only a smart thing & a safe thing, but also, a very cool thing to do!

Put on the Right Helmet and Ride Safely!

• A bicycle helmet is a necessity, not an accessory. Always wear a helmet every time and every where you ride.
• Wear a bicycle helmet correctly. The helmet should fit comfortably and snugly, but not too tightly. It should sit on top of your head in a level position, and it should not rock forward and backward or from side to side. The helmet straps must always be buckled.
• Buy a bicycle helmet that meets or exceeds the safety standards developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Snell Memorial Foundation and/or the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
• Learn the rules of the road and obey all traffic laws. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against; use appropriate hand signals; stop at all intersections, marked and unmarked; and stop and look both ways before entering a street.
• It's a fact: children are more likely to wear a bicycle helmet if riding with others (peers or adults) who are also wearing a helmet, and less likely to wear one if their companions are not.
• The use of helmets and other protective equipment such as knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist protection are strongly recommended when in-line skating, riding scooters and skate boarding.

Bicycling Rules of the Road

RESTRICT cycling to sidewalks, paths and driveways until children can show how well they ride and observe basic rules of the road (usually around age 10).

1. STOP before riding out into traffic from a driveway, side walk, alley, or parking lot. LOOK left, right, and left again. When there's no traffic ENTER roadway.
2. RIDE on the right with traffic.
3. OBEY stop signs and red lights. (Kids under age 10 should walk, not ride, bikes through busy intersections.)
4. LOOK BACK and YIELD to traffic coming from behind before turning left at intersections.

It's part of our mission to improve the health and wellness of people in our community, and kids are a huge part of our community! Providing this collection of information on safety at no cost to you is just one way we're trying to make a difference. If you have any questions about children's health and safety, give us a call at 636-239-8274.