Las Vegas Injury Lawyer, Nevada Bike Safety, CPSC

CPSC Urges Bicyclists to Wear Helmets

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Each year about 800 bicyclists are killed and more than half

a million are treated in hospital emergency rooms. In recent

years, almost two-thirds of the deaths and one-third of the

injuries involved head and face injury. About one-half the

injuries to children under the age of 10 involved the head or

face. Helmets may reduce the risk of head injury to bicyclists

by as much as 85 percent. Yet, only about 50 percent of

bicyclists wear helmets.

The purpose of a helmet is to absorb the energy of an

impact to minimize or prevent a head injury. Crushable,

expanded polystyrene foam generally is used for this purpose.

A bicycle helmet should have a snug but comfortable fit on

the rider’s head. Some helmets are available with several

different thicknesses of internal padding to custom fit the

helmet to the user. If a parent is buying a helmet for a child,

the CPSC recommends that the child accompany the parent

so that the helmet can be tested for a good fit.

For a helmet to provide protection during impact, it must

have a chin strap and buckle that will stay securely fastened. No combination of twisting or pulling should remove

the helmet from the head or loosen the buckle on the strap.

Children should be instructed to always wear the helmet

level on the forehead, not tilted back. The chin strap should

be adjusted correctly and firmly buckled.

Helmets manufactured after March 1999, are required by

federal law to meet the CPSC standard. When purchasing a

helmet, consumers are urged to examine the helmet and

accompanying instructions and safety literature carefully.

Consumers should also look for a label stating conformance

with the CPSC standard.

Bicyclists should avoid riding at night. If you must ride at

night, install and use front and rear lights on the bicycle and

wear clothing with reflective tape or markings. These precautions are in addition to the reflectors that the CPSC