Too Few Kids Follow Bike Helmet Laws, Study Finds

In L.A. County over 5-year period, 8 of 9 children who died in bike accidents weren't wearing helmets

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_141946.html

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By Robert Preidt

Saturday, October 26, 2013

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SATURDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Helmets are worn by only about one in 10 Los Angeles County children involved in bicycle accidents, despite a state law that requires helmets for riders under age 18, a new study finds.
The findings show the need for new education programs to increase the use of bike helmets, according to the study authors.
The researchers analyzed the medical records of more than 1,200 children, median age 13, who were treated for bicycle accident-related injuries in Los Angeles County between 2006 and 2011.
Overall, just over 11 percent of the children were wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, but there were significant racial/ethnic differences in helmet use. About 35 percent of white children wore helmets, compared to 7 percent of Asian children, 6 percent of black children and 4 percent of Hispanic children, the findings revealed.
The investigators also found that children over age 12 were less likely to wear a helmet and that helmet use was lower among children with public insurance than among those with private insurance (7.6 percent versus 15.2 percent), according to the study presented Oct. 26 at the national conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in Orlando, Fla.
Nearly 6 percent of the children in the study required emergency surgery and the death rate was 0.7 percent. Of the nine children who died, eight were not wearing a helmet.
"Our study highlights the need to target minority groups, older children and those with lower socioeconomic status when implementing bicycle safety programs in Los Angeles County," study author Dr. Veronica Sullins said in an AAP news release.
Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Each year in the United States, bicycle crashes and bicycle-related head injuries cause 150,000 emergency department visits and nearly 400 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: American Academy of Pediatrics, news release, Oct. 26, 2013

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