Wear a Helmet

Bike helmets save lives.  A bike helmet is as essential a safety item as a seat belt (Figs. 1 & 2). Bike helmets are 85% effective at mitigating a brain injury when in a bicycle crash (i.e. reducing the damage of the crash to your brain) and between 70-80% of fatal bike crashes involve head injuries.  However, only 18% of bike riders wear helmets.  

Figure 1.  Rider sporting a well fitting helmet at Bike with a Cop event at the new 12th St. LRPD Precinct in October 2016.

Figure 2.  Arkansas Bicycle Club riders on the Clinton Presidential Bridge.  Little Rock bike clubs typically will not allow participation in their rides without bike helmets.

Bike helmets are not effective if they are not worn properly. Two common mistakes are riders with their helmets tipped back too far (too much forehead showing) or a chin strap that is too loose (Fig. 3). 

Figure 3.  This short video highlights how to fit a helmet for a child or adult (Safe Kids Worldwide).