CPSC Study Shows More Kids Wear Bicycle Helmets, But Deaths And Injuries Still Common

 A study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows that while more children than ever before are wearing bike helmets, there is still an alarming number of deaths and injuries from bicycle accidents each year. The CPSC study, the results of which were published in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, was based on the first national survey of children's bicycle helmet use.

Although helmet use is on the rise, deaths and injuries are still common. About 300 children are killed and more than 400,000 children go to hospital emergency rooms each year due to bicycle injuries. Children between five and 14 have the highest injury rate of all bicycle riders, and bicycle accidents are one of the leading causes of accidental deaths in this age group.

Published data shows that most of the serious injuries could be prevented by wearing a bicycle helmet, which can reduce the likelihood of head injuries by up to 85 percent.

In a survey of 399 children under the age of 15 who rode bicycles in 1991, the study found that 26 percent owned or had use of a helmet. Fifteen percent wore the helmet all or most of the time when bicycling.

"This survey shows that kids' attitudes toward bike helmet use have changed over the last few years, and more kids have started wearing bike helmets," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "But we still see hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries each year. Parents and community groups can help reduce the number of severe injuries by encouraging kids to wear helmets every time they ride a bike."

Helmet use was highest for the younger children (age six or less) and lowest for older 12-to-14-year-old children. The study also showed that helmet use is higher if the child had previously suffered a bicycle-related medically attended injury.

The study cited a number of factors that contributed to children's increased use of bicycle helmets: increased positive media coverage of helmet use; state and local programs designed to increase helmet use; state and local laws that require children to wear helmets; and the introduction of lighter and more attractive helmets.

While there is a long way to go in increasing helmet use, the usage rate of 15 percent is several times greater than it has been in the past. Previous studies conducted in the mid-to- late 1980s in limited geographic areas showed that only two to three percent of children under 15 used bicycle helmets.

The CPSC study implied that parents and communities can play an active role in increasing children's use of bike helmets. There are steps parents and communities can take to reduce the 400,000 bicycle-related, emergency room-treated injuries and 300 bicycle-related deaths each year:

-- Parents need to be informed about the potential seriousness of bicycle-related injuries, and encourage their children to wear helmets every time they ride a bike.

-- Efforts to increase helmet use by teenagers is especially important, since this group is least likely to wear helmets.

-- Communities can help increase the number of children who wear bike helmets by sponsoring bicycle safety awareness programs.

-- Low-cost helmet programs should be encouraged as a way to get helmets into the hands of children from low-income households.

The 1991 CPSC telephone survey was the first national survey of bicycle helmet use patterns among children ever conducted. Although studies of local geographic areas had been conducted, there had been no national study of bicycle helmet use by children prior to this CPSC study.

For more information on this survey and bicycle safety in general, consumers should call (301) 504-7908.