Bicycle safety is important and wearing a bike helmet could be life saving. The following are statistics from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute:
- Bicycle crashes and injuries are under-reported because the majority are not serious enough for emergency room visits.
- Over 500,000 bicyclists visit the emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries.
- 1 in 8 of the cyclists with reported injuries had a brain injury.
Armed with these statistics, BayCare Clinic Neurological Surgeons have made it their mission to protect head injury by giving away FREE bike helmets at community events. They were at the downtown Green Bay Farmers' Market on Broadway Street on June 3 and August 5, 2009, and fitted and gave away nearly 800 bike helmets.
In addition, in July 2008 and 2009, BayCare Clinic Neurological Surgeons gave away over 700 bike helmets at the BayCare Clinic S.A.F.E. and Wellness Day at the NEW Zoo.
Along with giving away FREE bike helmets, BayCare Clinic Neurological Surgeons distributed coloring pages and bike safety information at these events.
To protect your head, a bike helmet must fit properly. Use the following guide points to assist with proper fitting:
- Bike helmet to fit flat atop your head, not tiled back at an angle
- Helmet should not obstruct your field of vision
- Straps should be adjusted and tightened to fit securely under the chin, and the buckle fastened at all times.
For additional information on how to properly fit your bike helmet, click here
