How Bicycle Helmets Protect You From Injury

Over 1,000 people each year die as a result of a bicycle accident injury, and about 400 of these people are children under the age of 15. The Cyclist at Law, Attorney Bill Shirer, encourages everybody to always wear a bicycle helmet in order to reduce the risk of serious injury or death while riding their bicycles. Read on to learn more about how wearing a helmet can protect you or your children from serious injury.

Protection to Head and Skull

The most important reason to wear a bicycle helmet is that it protects your head and your skull in the event of an accident. Falling off the bicycle or being thrown off it after being hit by a car can cause you to fly forward and hit your head on dirt or concrete. If you’re not wearing a helmet at the time of the impact, you can break bones in your skull, resulting in serious head trauma or even death.

Wearing a helmet protects you from all of these problems because the helmet cushions your head. If you fall or are thrown off your bike while wearing a helmet, the helmet hits the ground and your head doesn’t directly make contact with the landing surface. As a result, you are far less likely to suffer a serious injury.

Helmet Standards

It’s important, however, to get a helmet that is up to safety standards. Helmets should be approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission or by the American Society for Testing and Materials. These helmets pass rigorous safety tests to ensure that they won’t slip out of position or otherwise fail to protect you. Helmets that have been approved by these groups are made out of proper materials, so there’s less risk that the material will break upon impact.

Wearing your bicycle helmet can seriously reduce the risk of injury or death in the event of an accident. In many states, it’s mandatory that children under the age of 14 wear helmets for this reason. Even if you’re wearing a helmet, however, you can still be seriously injured in the event of a collision with another vehicle. If this happens, you’ll need an experienced Dallas bike accident attorney to help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact the Cyclist at Law at 800-877-6188 to schedule a consultation today.