Bike Helmet Issue (Full Version)

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pepsimom7 -> Bike Helmet Issue (5/8/2008 9:24:35 PM)

when my kids were younger our rule was they needed to wear bike helmets. now they are older they refuse to wear helmets my daughter is 14.and 18 and age 7. Is it wrong to say the rule is wear your helmet or you cant ride??? they say but we are real safe riders I said its still a safety issue.they say nobody else wears a helmet so they wont. anyone have these issues with thier teens how do you get across to them how important it is?? any advice would be of great help.



NotDoneYet -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/8/2008 9:32:00 PM)

To end the discussion, you might want to check and see if there are any laws regarding helmets in your city.
If there is no law or ordinace, you might want to strongly suggest they wear helmets, but in reality you can't force it. The 18 year old can make her own choices, and at that age, trying something punitive like "you can't ride your bike" is useless...the younger ones, you can require helmet use...
Here where I live, there is an ordinance requiring helmets...so, there's no discussion here. You wear them or don't ride...our little ones aren't riding bikes yet...maybe later this spring/summer. I'm still recovering from a foot injury and walking is still tough for me.

NDY



Mrs.X -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/8/2008 9:54:48 PM)

1995 I believe it's federal law....16 and under must wear a helmet, $50 fine.....it might be more now, but in 1995 it was $50.



his_chosen -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/8/2008 10:10:09 PM)

I do a lot of bicycling. I already have 1000 miles in this season. Ds1 (15yo) and I did a 2-day 170 mile tour last weekend, and this weekend will be a 2-day 210 mile tour. Since I started riding in '82, I have always worn a helmet. I would consider myself a good rider, yet would never ride without a helmet.

From day one, the rule here was no helmet, no bike. Worked like a charm until the neighbor kids were riding without helmets. Ds2 (13yo) decided he didn't need to wear his. He went without his bike for a month before he decided he could deal with the helmet.

As far as them being "safe riders"--go to any organized bicycle tour. Helmets are REQUIRED. No helmet, and you will be pulled off the course. I also do triathlons. Any time you are on your bicycle, you MUST wear a helmet or you will be disqualified.

You need another reason? My first tri coach finished 14th at worlds. We're talking one heck of an athlete here. He was out on a training ride when he was hit by a car. He was flipped up and over another truck. He suffered a fractured pelvis and two broken arms. He also had some brain damage. If he wouldn't ahve been wearing his helmet, he would be dead. Sometimes it ain't the rider. It's the cars.

Take the kids to a bike shop and let them pick out the helmet they want. Any helmet will provide decent protection--as long as it is strapped to their head and not left in the garage.



Mrs.X -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/8/2008 11:30:50 PM)

Any of your kids boys? BMX style helmets are considered "cool" in the younger crowd. Like THIS. Probably even safer since they kinda cover the face.



SteveSund -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 7:50:48 AM)

There is no federal bike helmet law. There are state and local laws, though. A list can be found here.

That being said, I agree with the no helmet, no bike rule. This is what we have in our house.



manda59 -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 9:12:56 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pepsimom7
Is it wrong to say the rule is wear your helmet or you cant ride??? they say but we are real safe riders



My children are 18 and 14. Our rule has always been no helmet, no bike. I won't even let my husband go out on his bike without his helmet.

Yours may think they are safe riders, but what about the others? Here in the UK, drivers can be a particular danger to cyclists, often just not even seeing them.

Whenever a news item came up about a cyclist injured or dead from not wearing a helmet, I'd point it out to them and make sure they knew why we had that house rule.



Consecrated2God -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 9:25:04 AM)

Okay, I'll admit it--I don't wear a helmet, and most of the time the kids don't either. I don't even own one. I think the kids all do, but I'm not even sure about that. It's just not something my husband and I were brought up to think was important, I guess.



stellaluna -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 9:49:50 AM)

I wear a helmet and I don't. [:)]

I do not wear a helmet during my commute to work, which is very close to my house, through residential neighborhoods, early in the morning. I encounter one or two cars a week.

I do wear a helmet when I leave the neighborhood to run errands or ride for pleasure, etc.

I don't blame anyone for not wanting to wear a helmet because they're hot and frankly, they look dumb. Which is why I wear a BMX/skateboard helmet, not one of those weird-shaped, weird-colored helmets. If your kids have skateboard helmets, check to see if they're tested for bike use.

My helmet sort of looks like this. Mine has more foam inside and it's a couple of years old.



PrincessDonna -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 9:57:01 AM)

Our rule has always been no helmet, no bike. I'd say to keep your rule with the 14 and 7 year old, and appeal to the 18 year old on the basis of being a good example to his younger siblings.

My 7 and 8 year old boys have multisport helmets, which cover more of the back of the head.



peculiar_lady2 -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 10:52:41 AM)

my husband spent three days in a coma when he was a teenager because of not wearing a bike helmet when he was riding (hit by a car)...so our rule is also "no helmet, no bike...no exceptions".
(edited for clarity)



Miss Giggles -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 11:11:02 AM)

I just started biking. The parents and the kids both need to wear helmets. I see helmets on the little kids and the parents right behind them w/o helmets.. I wouldn't want to see the kids see their parents get hurt..

Plus its a rule in the parks. Their may be local and state laws requiring helmets as well.



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 5:13:01 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pepsimom7

when my kids were younger our rule was they needed to wear bike helmets. now they are older they refuse to wear helmets my daughter is 14.and 18 and age 7. Is it wrong to say the rule is wear your helmet or you cant ride??? they say but we are real safe riders I said its still a safety issue.they say nobody else wears a helmet so they wont. anyone have these issues with thier teens how do you get across to them how important it is?? any advice would be of great help.
Well, if my kids don't wear their helmets then I sell their wheels. Very simply, I like their skulls in one piece. It's the way I gave birth to them, and I intend for them to stay that way.

One thing, though--I did not wear a helmet until I had kids. Now I wear one everytime whether my kids are with me or not, simply because I would find it hypocritical not to. Only once or twice did I hear a complaint, and only from one of the kids. That child has his own motorcycle now and boy am I glad I instilled the helmet rule ages ago!

Teenagers think they are immune to disaster. Brandon had a pretty nasty accident on his scooter where he broke his wrist and crushed one of his teeth. His all-sport helmet saved him a LOT of injury, including a broken nose, cracked skull, etc. He was the one who complained, but he'll never question it again because he found out himself how useful it was. So, hold your ground until some maturity sets in.

Besides, if you let them do something because other kids do it, where will THAT end?



TammyIsBlessed -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 5:16:15 PM)

We have a no helmet no bike rule for the kids. But we don't wear them ourselves. That may pose problems down the line I guess. [:)]



Focusing -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 7:09:37 PM)

quote:

Is it wrong to say the rule is wear your helmet or you cant ride?

It's not wrong. It's also the law where I live.

No helmet. No bike riding. Period.



TammyIsBlessed -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 11:45:15 PM)

Are there studies showing the benefits to helmet wearing? (For adults moreso I mean). DH is of the opinion that if you get hit by a car, you're toast no matter if you're wearing a helmet or not. [&:]



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/9/2008 11:53:21 PM)

That sounds illogical to me. If you get hit by a car (which is a fallacy to begin with...since not all bike accidents are car-related, after all!) and your arm or your leg breaks, or your back breaks and you are a parapalegic, or you break a rib or two or three and puncture a lung...they can still help you.

But trauma to the brain? You can live without your legs. You can parent without your legs. You cannot do these things without your brain, and brains are very hard to fix and I don't believe statistically your chance of success is all that great, either.



Consecrated2God -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/10/2008 8:36:25 AM)

My son had one bike accident that landed him in the hospital. He ruptured his spleen. Everyone kept asking me if he'd been wearing a helmet, but a helmet wouldn't have protected his spleen, so I'm not sure why they were asking me that.



macokjc -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/11/2008 2:42:59 PM)

I think your son was fortunate. I personally know 3 people who now are mentally disabled due to head trauma from a bike accident. One guy had the helmet on his bike handles when he was speeding down a hill. He hit a rock, flew over the handlebars and landed in a coma. Last year my three year old daughter was going down a hill on a hot wheels trike, accidentally hit something, fell off of the hot wheels, and cracked her helmet.

Tell me something - what is more important: keeping your mental abilities, or not looking stupid. Personally, when I see somebody NOT wearing a helmet, stupid is the first word that comes to mind.



creationtalk -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/11/2008 10:13:25 PM)

I say enforce the no helmet no bike rule. I watched my best friend's agony over the death of her son. He was struck by a car while riding his bike. He died of massive head trauma. He had NO other serious injuries and had he been wearing a helmet would have survived with only minor injuries.



agapetos -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/11/2008 10:27:16 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Consecrated2God

My son had one bike accident that landed him in the hospital. He ruptured his spleen. Everyone kept asking me if he'd been wearing a helmet, but a helmet wouldn't have protected his spleen, so I'm not sure why they were asking me that.
If by 'everyone' you mean the doctors/nurses in the hospital, they were probably assessing whether he needed closer checking because of possible head trauma.

A helmet wouldn't have protected his spleen, but it can prevent head injury.

quote:

Is it wrong to say the rule is wear your helmet or you cant ride??? they say but we are real safe riders I said its still a safety issue.they say nobody else wears a helmet so they wont.
No, it's not wrong to have this rule while living under your roof. I agree that you should check what the laws are regarding this. It doesn't matter how safe they are as riders, they aren't the only ones on the road ~ dogs, cats, car drivers all can cause accidents.



Consecrated2God -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/12/2008 8:46:48 AM)

quote:

If by 'everyone' you mean the doctors/nurses in the hospital, they were probably assessing whether he needed closer checking because of possible head trauma.


No, he didn't land on his head. He ran into another girl, and his handles turned and went into his abdomen.



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/12/2008 9:28:39 AM)

But then he could have been kocked back onto his head. He is actually very fortunate.

No matter how careful the biker, and no matter how quiet the road, unexpected things happen. I had a friend who ran into a parked car. She was distracted by a cat or something, I don't know. She was very fortunate--she was wearing a helmet. Nate ran into a garbage can on a quiet street.

Brandon was alone on a sidewalk when he had his accident. I am very grateful for that helmet (which has been replaced--should always replace a helmet that has done its job!).



Ellie-Mae -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/12/2008 2:42:03 PM)

I turned on the news today and lo and behold this was one of the main stories.



JimboFletch -> RE: Bike Helmet Issue (5/12/2008 2:49:30 PM)

I don't think wearing a helmet would make a lot of difference when getting by a pickup...



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