For Lisa Hoffman, strapping on a bike helmet is old hat. That's why she's still alive.
"A rollerblader cut me off while biking. I braked really quick. I flipped over my bike," she said.
Lisa's head hit the ground hard.
"I noticed my bike helmet cracked. And at that moment, that's when I realized this helmet saved my life."
Today, she's is known as the "helmet crusader."
Whether you ride on the main streets, or like to hit the back roads, helmets are an essential accessory. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, wearing one can reduce the risk of injury by up to 85 percent. Still, 91 percent of the cyclists killed in 2008 were not wearing helmets,the majority of them adults.
"Wearing a bicycle helmet is the single most important thing that you can do to determine whether or not you live or die from a bicycle accident, " according to Dr. Melissa Barton. She says as we age we need to be even more careful since our brains begin to shrink as young as age 30.
"The space between the skull and the brain gets larger. And that empty space has very tiny blood vessels, so riding a bike without a helmet and hitting your head, can cause those little tiny blood vessels to tear."
When cyclist Jeff Kaplan tumbled onto train tracks as a young adult, he wasn't wearing a helmet. Thankfully, he only needed stitches.
"Before I had my accident, I absolutely never wore a bike helmet. I just didn't think they looked good. I thought they were inhibiting."
Style is just one of the reasons adults tend to skip the headgear.
"They didn't wear one as a child, and so they really don't see the need for it," said Randy Swart of the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute.
Dr. Barton says her patients also blame cost. The good news? Many helmets today are as little as $10 and studies show they're just as effective as the expensive models.
Fit is also important. Not only should your helmet be level, it should touch all the way around.
"We call it snug," said Swart.
A bike helmet should last at least five years. If you crash, throw it out and get a new one. Also, be mindful of the sun. It can make a helmet shell brittle, meaning you should replace it sooner.
Bicycle Helmet Requirements in Washington:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/helmets.htm
To add a comment, please register or login.