Keep Your Brain in Check with the Brain Bucket Brigade

Over the years, the importance of bicycle helmet safety has become common knowledge.  A bicycle helmet, when worn properly, is the single most effective piece of equipment to reduce head injury in the event of a bicycle crash.   Head injuries are a huge issue in our country, accounting for about 44% of all deaths resulting from injury.  For  bicyclists, more than 40% of all deaths from head-related injury were children younger than 15 years old.  According to a study cited by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), helmets reduced the risk for bicycle-related head injury by 74-85%.

But many head injuries still happen because children don’t wear helmets.  When we realized that a good helmet is sometimes financially out of reach for some families, our law firm teamed with local shop Bicycle Way of Life to start the Brain Bucket Brigade. Every year, this program provides bike helmets to children who might otherwise be unable to afford such a basic safety necessity.

But owning a helmet is only half the battle. When we ride, we often see people not wearing helmets, including children and teenagers. A good helmet is useless unless it’s attached to your head.  While helmets cannot prevent all head injuries, helmet designs and technology have dramatically improved over the years and have prevented a large number of brain injuries.  Our Brain Bucket Brigade wants to get kids and parents to make wearing helmets a priority

Why Don’t Kids Wear Helmets?

 According to the Centers for Disease Control, most children do not wear helmets when they ride bicycles. “Barriers to helmet use include cost, the wearability of bicycle helmets, and a lack of knowledge regarding helmet effectiveness). In addition, some school-age children (i.e., children less than 15 years of age) believe that wearing a helmet will result in derision by their peers.”

What Can We Do to Help?

Make sure that every child in your family who bicycles has a helmet and uses it while they are on their bike.   Set a good example: helmets help to protect adult cyclists from brain injuries, too.  Your wearing a helmet while bicycling helps the children in your life see helmets as a normal part of cycling.

If you’d like to know more or to get involved in the Brain Bucket Brigade, please contact us.