Revisiting Bicycle Helmets: Injury Prevention for Kids and More

A year ago I wrote the blog post below, which I am re-posting today.  I wrote the post to coincide with the publication in the November 2013 CJSM of the Canadian Academy of Sports and Exercise Medicine (CASEM) position statement on mandated bicycle helmet use in Canada.

I was reminded of the statement–and the blog post–today as I came across an article posted on the Facebook page of CASEM related to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine looking at the the causes of head injuries in children.  For those under high school age, falls–including those from bicycles–are an exceedingly common cause of head injury.  One striking statistic from the study, quoted in the article:  for children presenting to the ED with a head injury resulting from a bicycle accident, only 18% were wearing a helmet.

The post I wrote last year generated more responses I think than any other post I have written on this blog, and it warranted several follow up posts .  I was struck by the passion–and quite often, vitriol–of many people writing in.  It wasn’t my first introduction to troll-like behavior on social media, but it was possibly the loudest and most ‘international’ I have experienced to date.

I hope you have a chance to look at the articles contained in the links on this post and the ‘reblog’ below.  I think the approach to injury prevention, specifically relating to bikes and most specifically relating to ‘kids on bikes,’ should be multifactorial:  yes to improved road safety, yes to a different relationship between cars and bikes, yes to a built environment that is more accommodating to bikes and pedestrians–but yes as well to personal protective equipment, like helmets.

As ever, we are interested in your thoughts.  But I say with the utmost politeness:  please note that any post that I find does not contribute to a civilized discussion will not be posted on the discussion board.

All the best.