If anyone can attest to the effectiveness of bicycle helmets, it's Adam Middleton.

Middleton, a volunteer and part-time firefighter/EMT with the City of Bellbrook, was riding his bicycle on the bicycle path on Upper Bellbrook Road, when a vehicle came out of a driveway and onto the path. He clipped the front of the car, hit the hood of the vehicle with his head and flew into the middle of the roadway.

Realizing he was in a very, very dangerous place, Middleton scrambled to get back to the safety of the bike path. It was then that he realized how valuable his helmet really was.

"I looked at the car, and the impact from my head actually put a dent in the hood," he said. "The only damage to my helmet was some scratches to the top from the pavement."

Middleton escaped with only an injury to his ankle from the impact with the vehicle's license plate and soreness in his shoulder from his impact with the road.

Firefighter/paramedic Athena Robbins said that simply putting on a bicycle helmet every time you ride could prevent many injuries.

"It seems like something so simple, but so many people either don't have a helmet or don't choose to wear one when they ride," she said. "We've seen five or six injuries in the past month that could have been prevented by wearing a helmet."

And Robbins suggests parents consider the cost compared to the life that could be saved by wearing a helmet.

"For less than $25, parents have the opportunity to save their child's life," she said. "I can't think of a reason for a parent not to purchase a helmet and require their child to wear it."

Injury statistics, among adults and children alike, are staggering.

Every year, nearly 900 people are killed and more than 500,000 are injured. Of those, 350,000 are children, including 130,000 of whom present with head injuries.

Of the statistics, one final number shines through them all: 85% of all bicycle-related head injuries can be prevented with helmet use.

For more information on bicycle helmets, their use and how to properly fit a helmet, visit Bellbrook Fire's Safe Place on the web at http://www.bellbrookfire.org/safe.

Release I00-06
August 1, 2000