Helmet and Bike Safety

Wear Your Helmet … Wear it every time you ride! ... It’s the Law

A helmet gives you a real chance of walking away from a collision. A helmet works by absorbing the force of the impact and spreading it out over the whole helmet. The impact on your head and your brain is reduced.

Wearing a helmet reduces how much force your skull must take and how much your brain will crash around inside your skull if you crash or hit your head.

Wearing a helmet can reduce your risk of head injury up to 85%.

…continued

Your skull is hard (thick as three pennies stacked) and can crack easily.

Your brain is floating in a sack of fluid inside your skull. When you hit your head your brain crashes around in the fluid.

Your brain can be bruised and swell up. It can bleed. Hundreds of connections between different parts of your brain can be ripped apart.

Click on link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgqvTVr1Epw

Helmet Law of Ontario

Cyclists under 18 are required by law to wear an appropriate bicycle helmet when riding a bike on roadways or sidewalks. Law passed on October 1, 1995.

You can be fined ($80 – ON 2009) - by a police officer for failing to abide by this law.

How do you Cycle?

To ride a bike safely you have to do two things at the same time — Ride and Think. Believe it or not, your brain is a safety device, just like your helmet and your bike brakes.

Safety is about making choices. To make good choices you need to know about bike safety. That is how traffic works and how a bike fits in.

…continued

Think about the following:

• A bike is smaller, slower, lighter, and has less protection than a car… but it is still a vehicle.

• A cyclist needs enough space to avoid hazards.

• If drivers SEE you riding your bike, then they can avoid hitting you.

• If drivers can PREDICT what you are going to do next, then they can avoid hitting you.

• The rules help drivers to see you and to know what you will do next.

How do you Ride your bike?Answer: Yes, No, or Sometimes – mentally to yourself

1. Do I wear my Helmet every time I ride?

2. Do I make sure my bike works properly?

3. Do I replace my Helmet after a bad fall?

4. Do I ride in a straight line on the right hand side of the road, in the same direction as traffic?

5. Do I stop at the edge of the road, stop at red lights and stop signs, look to see if road is clear and look all ways?

… continued

5. Do I obey the road signs? (Identify the following signs: Yield, One Way, Railway Crossing and Stop)

6. Do I always look over my shoulder behind me before I turn or move out on the road?

7. Do I always signal to let drivers know what I am doing next? (Identify the hand signals: left, right, stop)

8. Do I always look ahead down the road to see if there might be danger ahead?

… continued

If you answered yes to all these questions, then you have street sense.

If you answered “no” or “sometimes” to any of these questions, think about them some more, or ask an adult for help. Remember, safety is about making safe choices.

Cycling safety can become a habit with a little practice.

Make your Bike Legal!The four things to make your bike legal required by law are:

1. Helmet(Cyclists under 18 must wear a helmet. Recommended for those over 18 years of age)

2. Lights and Reflectors(a white light mounted on the front of your bike and a red reflector on the back at night)

3. Bell or Horn

4. Reflective Tape(white reflective tape on the front forks, red reflective tape on the rearstays)

Tips for Fitting a Helmet

1. Check the Fit – take it out of the packaging and try it on.

2. Make sure it is an approved bicycle helmet. Check for the approved sticker from one of the testing agencies:

Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Snell Memorial Foundation (SMF) American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) American National Standards Institute (ANSI) British Standards Institute (BSI) Standards Association of Australia (SAA)

… continued

3. Other protective helmets such as hockey helmets are not acceptable. Only use Bike Helmets for cycling.

4. Check sizing – Helmets are made to fit different sized heads.

5. Remember the pads. The key to a good fit is in the pads that come with the helmet.

6. Check the straps – make sure they are adjustable and expand & clip into place. Straps should lay flat on face when secured.

7. Don’t buy a used helmet.

8. Replace your helmet if: it lacks a certified safety standard sticker it is not adjustable to fit your head correctly it has been involved in a crash it has been purchased in the 70’s you hate it

… continued

Get help to adjust your helmet.No caps or hair obstructions (i.e. ponytails).

Thank you

Algoma Public Health