Resources for TV Writers and Producers
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More Information
- CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
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Are you a writer or producer working on a
current TV or film project? Head Injuries and Bicycle Safety
What's the Problem?
Millions of Americans ride bicycles, but only a small percentage wear bicycle helmets. For example, only about one in four children ages 4-15 years wears bicycle helmets when riding, and teen use of helmets is nearly zero. Some 140,000 children are treated in emergency departments each year for head injuries sustained while they were bicycling. In 1997, 813 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles. Ninety-seven percent (97%) of those killed were not wearing helmets. In that same year, an estimated 567,000 Americans sustained a bicycle-related injury that required emergency department care. Roughly two-thirds of these cyclists were children or adolescents.
Who's at Risk?
Any bicyclist who does not wear a bicycle helmet is at increased risk of head injury.
Can It Be Prevented?
Yes. Wearing a bike helmet reduces the risk of brain injury by 88% and reduces the risk of injury to the face by 65%. Wearing a helmet every time you and your children ride a bicycle is one important prevention method. If children don't want to wear a helmet, find out why. Some children don't like to wear helmets because they fear they will be teased by peers for being "geeky" or because they think helmets are unattractive, uncomfortable, or hot. Talk about these concerns with children and choose a helmet they will want to wear. Other prevention strategies:
- Follow the rules of the road:
- ride on the right side of the road-with the traffic flow, not against it;
- obey traffic signs and signals just as if you were driving a car;
- use correct hand signals;
- stop at all intersections and crosswalks, both marked and unmarked;
- stop and look both ways before entering a street;
- yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and skaters.
- Have children ride on sidewalks and paths until they are at least 10 years old, are able to show good riding skills, and are able to observe the basic rules of the road.
- If riding at dawn, at dusk, or at night, wear reflective clothing (not just light-colored clothing) and make sure that the bike has a headlight and a rear reflector.
Tips for Scripts
INFORM viewers that thousands of people suffer bicycle-related head injuries each year.
EDUCATE viewers that bicycle helmets provide effective protection against head injuries.
REMIND parents that they serve as role models to their children, and that if parents wear helmets, their children are more likely
to also.
ADVISE viewers that head injuries can be devastating, recuperation prolonged; a serious head injury could mean a person would be
unable to go to school or work.
Case Examples
1. A teenager riding a bicycle without a helmet is struck by a car and suffers a serious head injury. He endures months of rehabilitation, with bad headaches, slurred speech and facial scars. He loses confidence in himself, becoming increasingly isolated socially.
2. A divorced father takes his two young daughters out for a bike ride while they are visiting him on a Saturday. While the mother insists that the children wear helmets, he has never bought any, and he and his daughters ride without them. One daughter falls from her bike, striking her head on the sidewalk. She required stitches and is in great pain. The father feels tremendous guilt.
3. A ten-year old boy does not want to wear a bike helmet because his friends do not wear them; he thinks it would make him look like a geek. His mother takes him shopping for a helmet; he shows little interest. She chats with a young salesman while her son is browsing out of hearing distance. The young salesman, good-looking, athletic, starts talking to the boy about riding bikes, asking what kind he has and where he rides it. Then he asks what kind of helmet the boy wears. When the boy hesitates, the salesman says, "Come on over here, I'll show you the kind I use." The boy feels flattered and is interested in looking at helmets.
4. A young girl wants a bike for her birthday but her father knows she doesn't like helmets. He says, "Here's the deal. I'll get you a bike, but it comes with a helmet. If you get on the bike, you put on the helmet. Deal?"
5. Two boys decide to ride their bikes to the store. One says he has to go upstairs to get his helmet first. Other says not to bother, they're not riding far. The first says he doesn't want to get his brains splattered on the street and goes to get his helmet.
Page last modified on July 23, 2003