Guest Column: Bike Safety An Important Part of Summer Fun

The arrival of May means summer is around the corner. It also means a wealth of new opportunities for fun under the sun. Summer brings backyard barbecues, pool parties, and of course, kids riding their bikes around the neighborhood. May also happens to be Bicycle Safety Month – an important time of year to reiterate the importance of bicycle safety.

Wisconsin is one of 29 states that does not enforce a bicycle helmet use law. This gives us even more of a responsibility to encourage safe bicycling habits, the most important of which is wearing a helmet. Helmets prevent serious injury and even death, and although helmet use is not required, I believe it is absolutely necessary.

According to Safe Kids USA, bikes are associated with more child injuries than any other consumer product, with the exception of automobiles. Sadly, many of these injuries could have been far less severe, or even avoided, if the children were wearing helmets. In fact, researchers have found that wearing a helmet can reduce the severity of brain injury by as much as 88%. 

There’s a caveat though – in order to reap the protection a helmet offers, it must be properly fitted. Safe Kids USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating preventable childhood injuries and a longtime partner of Habush’s helmet donation and fitting events, offers the following Eyes, Ears and Mouth Test  to ensure a proper fit:

• Eyes: Place the helmet on the child’s head. When looking up, he should be able to see the bottom rim of the helmet, approximately one to two finger-widths above the eyebrows.
• Ears: Make sure the straps of the helmet make a “V” shape under the child’s ears. The strap should fit tightly but should not be uncomfortable.
• Mouth:  When the child opens his mouth, he should feel the helmet “hug” is head.

In addition to the Eyes, Ears, and Mouth Test, there are a number of other things to consider in regard to bicycle safety. One is to make sure that the child’s bike is not too big, checking to see that his or her feet touch the ground when sitting on the seat. Also, make sure that reflectors are in place, the brakes and gears work properly, and tires are in place and properly inflated.  

Make sure that when you bring out the bike for the spring and summer season, you talk to your kids about bicycle safety and always make sure they are practicing bike safety and wearing a properly fitted helmet.

Robert Habush is president of Habush Habush & Rottier. The Habush Charitable Foundation is doing their part to protect local kids, one head at a time. After this summer’s helmet donations, the Habush firm will have donated 91,500 helmets to Wisconsin’s kids. Habush expects to reach the 100,000th helmet donation in the summer of 2012. Thirty-nine Habush employees have been trained by Safe Kids USA to offer specialized fitting services. To find an upcoming helmet donation event near you, visit: http://www.habush.com/charity/.