Heads Up For Safety

Helmet Safety Statistics:

• Wearing your helmet is the single most effective way to prevent head injuries, brain damage and long term effects of injuries following a bicycle accident.
• A properly worn bicycle helmet reduces the risk of head injury and brain damage by almost 90%.
• Nearly 690 children are injured daily due to bicycle-related crashes
• 60% of all childhood bicycle-related deaths are more likely to occur on residential streets close to home.

“If it sounds like I am trying to scare you, it’s because I am,” said Carol Dorn, “Heads Up For Safety” Coordinator at the Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey, as she addressed the crowd of students and their parents. “It’s so important to wear your helmet, even when just riding around the corner or down your driveway. You guys are ambassadors now. You need to make sure all your friends are wearing their helmets all of the time, and even your parents!” Dorn said, which returned giggles from both the kids and adults.

To date, only 21 states, the District of Columbia, and at 149 municipal localities have enacted age specific bicycle helmet laws.  Most of these laws cover bicyclists less than 16 years of age. 14 states have no state or local helmet laws at all. One study showed that within the five years of the passage of a state mandatory bicycle helmet law for children ages 13 and under, bicycle-related fatalities decreased by 60%.

For more information contact (732) 262-8020 or (888) 376-0376.

Click here to view information on the Heads Up For Safety Poster Contest.