Bike Helmet Safety

A recent TV commercial promoting our Structural Heart Disease Program featured a young girl riding her bicycle without a helmet. This was to portray the most accurate depiction of the 1970s, before evidence linking the absence of bike helmets with serious injuries. Covenant HealthCare fully supports and recommends the wearing of bicycle helmets on any and all bike rides and offers the following key bike helmet safety tips for your protection.

5 Key Bike Helmet Safety Tips
Each year, approximately 300,000 kids visit the emergency room because of a bicycle accident. The most serious of these accidents often lead to severe head injuries. But with the proper safety techniques in place, these head injuries are often preventable. In fact, it’s estimated that bicycle helmets could prevent 75 percent of fatal head injuries and 85 percent of non-fatal traumatic brain injuries in accidents involving bikes. That’s why we at Covenant HealthCare encourage you to practice these five key bike helmet safety tips:

  1. No matter the distance or intensity of the bike ride, helmets should be worn at all times in order to keep your head, neck and face protected.

  2. When buying a helmet, be sure it has a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or Snell Memorial Foundation sticker on it to ensure the helmet meets U.S. helmet safety standards.

  3. Vibrantly colored helmets with reflectors offer the ultimate protection by alerting drivers and pedestrians of an approaching biker, thereby preventing accidents and injuries.

  4. Correct fit and positioning is crucial for maximum helmet protection. Helmets should not be too big or too small, but perfectly snug on your head. They should also be worn at eye level and cover your forehead with straps tightly fastened forming a V shape under each ear.

  5. Helmets are not indestructible, but work hard to make sure your brain is. After major crashes or collisions, replace your helmet if any cracks or indents impair its full protection capabilities.