Ohio Bike Helmet Safety Awareness Week is May 2 – 10. Akron Children’s Hospital, Safe Kids Summit County and the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics will provide free bike helmets to children ages 3-16 as part of the “Put a Lid on It! Protect Before You Pedal” event on May 8 from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Reach Opportunity Center at Summit Lake, 390 W. Crosier St. in Akron.
The event also gives parents and guardians the opportunity to have their children’s helmets correctly fitted courtesy of Safe Kids Summit County.
“The City of Akron has a bike helmet ordinance, which requires every person under age 16 to wear a bike helmet when operating a bicycle,” said Courtney Hudson, injury prevention traumatic brain injury coalition coordinator at Akron Children’s.
Hudson said Wadsworth does not have an ordinance mandating kids wear helmets while riding bicycles.
According to the Ohio AAP, 75 percent of bike-related fatalities would be prevented with a helmet, and helmet use can reduce the risk of a head injury by 85 percent.
Last summer, Akron Children’s conducted bicycle helmet surveillance in Summit County to identify children wearing bike helmets as part of the Ohio Department of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Prevention Grant. Out of almost 100 children identified riding a bike, only one child was wearing a helmet.
“Safe Kids Summit County is committed to changing that sad statistic,” said Hudson.
“For the cost of a $10 bike helmet, we can take $41 out of Ohio’s health care system. That’s a significant return on an affordable investment for our families.”
