Use your head; wear a helmet!

Each year, more than 700,000 people in Canada suffer from bicycle-related injuries that require hospital emergency room treatment and hundreds of children die from bicycle-related injuries.

A helmet is the single most effective way to help reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes. Helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85% and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88%. Approximately 75% of bicycle-related fatalities could have been prevented by wearing a properly fitted helmet.  Here’s some helmet safety tips:

1. Helmets are for everyone.  Adults should also should wear a helmet for every ride. Children learn from watching you, so model proper behavior!
2. Adults and children should wear a helmet for all wheeled-sports activities.
3. When skateboarding or long boarding, your child should wear a skateboarding helmet.
4. When it is time to purchase a new helmet, let your children pick out their own; they will be more likely to wear them for every ride.
5. Helmets should sit comfortably on the head all the way around, sitting level and stable enough to stay in place during violent shakes or hard blows.
6. Rest the helmet level on the head, not tilted.
7. Make sure the straps of the helmet form a “V” under the ears when buckled.
8. Have the strap underneath the chin fit comfortably snug.
9. Secure the helmet to the point that twisting and tugging cannot remove it.
10. Always replace a helmet after a crash. Damages may not be visible, but the foam can lose its integrity