The Importance of Wearing a Helmet on Your Bike 2023
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Helmet safety is not an issue to be taken lightly. According to Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, about 74% of fatal biking accidents are due to head injuries. If riding a bike is one of your hobbies, you need to wear a helmet!
Helmets protect you and your child, whether you’re riding on the road or in the quietness of your neighborhood. Therefore, every cyclist should wear a helmet regardless of his/her age or skills.
Read on for more information on the importance of wearing a helmet on your bike, how to convince children to wear a helmet, and tips for choosing the ideal helmet.
7 Reasons Why Should Wear a Bike Helmet
So, why wear a helmet while riding your bike? Here’s a list of reasons. Note that the benefits of wearing a bike helmet apply to everybody regardless of skill and age.
1. Head Protection
Helmets are among the most effective ways of reducing the impact of head injuries. Unfortunately, accidents are usually very common when it comes to riding a bike. In some cases, the head injuries that result from such crashes can be fatal. At the very least, they’ll take a long time to recover.
Helmets prevent you from taking a direct fall on the head. Instead, they distribute the impact of the fall across a larger area of your head, which makes the injury less severe.
2. Eye Protection
Wearing a helmet will protect your eyes while riding a bike. Some helmets cover your whole face, offering maximum protection in an accident.
Apart from accidents, a helmet can also protect your eyes against wind, dust, and even the sun rays, which can cause severe eye problems. This, in turn, can increase your range of vision.
3. Better Control
Especially with children, wearing a helmet on a bike helps the biker stay more focused. It gives a sense of responsibility that makes them watch their speed levels. Being cautious is the number one recipe for safe riding.
4. Protection Against the Weather
Wearing a helmet can protect you from both the heat of the summer and the cold of winter. In the summer, a helmet protects your head from the scorching heat that can cause you a lot of trouble. It also helps lower your head’s temperature through its cushioning.
On the other hand, the cold winter wind can harm your eyes and ears. A helmet, especially with a visor, would cover your eyes and ears and prevent the wind from compromising your hearing.
5. Better Visibility
Most bike accidents are due to crashes with other vehicles. Sometimes, bikes aren’t easily visible to cars due to the darkness, the size of the vehicle, or the unexpected presence of the bike on the road.
A biker helmet with bright colors and reflective strips can increase your visibility and help you reduce the risk of accidents.
6. Avoiding Fines
Wearing a bike helmet is mandatory in some cities. You might have to pay a fine if you ride your bike without it.
7. Setting an Example
Most people already know the importance of wearing a bike helmet. However, they still choose not to wear it.
When you wear a helmet every time you’re on your bike, you set a good example to the people in your community, especially children. Wearing a bike helmet can help you teach your children responsibility by example.
How to Persuade Children to Wear Bike Helmets
It’s a lot harder to convince kids to wear helmets on their bikes. However, there are a couple of techniques you can adopt to make them like it.
Set an Example
As an adult, it’s your responsibility to teach children by example. If you wear your helmet every time you’re on a bike, your children and other children in your community will most probably follow suit.
Improve the Fit and the Look
According to a recent study, children refuse to wear bike helmets because of their looks and fit. Therefore, if helmets fit better and look cuter, children might like to wear them.
How to Wear Your Helmet Properly
To get the most out of your bike helmet, you should wear it properly. Here’s how to make sure your helmet fits nicely.
- The helmet should feel snug after you buckle the chin strap. It shouldn’t be movable to the sides or up and down.
- Your helmet shouldn’t be tilted towards the back. It should rest level over the head and reach down a couple of fingers above your eyebrows.
- You should be able to see the edge of your helmet when you look upward.
- The helmet straps should be even and form a V that ends right beneath your earlobe.
- The helmet should pull down on your head if you try to open your mouth. This means that there’s only room for one finger between the buckle and your chin.
“2-V-1” Is the Keyword
Remember the keyword “2-V-1”. “2” stands for the 2-finger distance between the helmet and your brows. “V” is the shape of the straps around your ears, and “1” is the 1-finger distance between your chin and the chin strap.
Tips to Pick Your Helmet
Here are some tips to help you choose the ideal helmet in order to protect yourself.
- It’s safer to choose a helmet that covers your entire face, or at least most of it.
- Don’t use cracked or fractured helmets because they won’t provide you with the safety you require.
- Pick a helmet with reflective straps for extra visibility.
- Your helmet has to fit your head. It shouldn’t rock from side to side.
- Use the extra padding or the universal fit ring to adjust the helmet to the size of your head or your kid’s head.
- Your helmet should have the CPSC safety sticker that indicates its approval by the Consumer Product Safety Committee. This indicates which sport this helmet is certified for.
Conclusion
Bike safety is a crucial issue. A good-fitting helmet can protect you from head injuries, bad weather, or traffic fines. It can also increase your visibility on the road and give you better control over the bike.
Moreover, children must learn the importance of wearing a helmet on a bike. They can be persuaded to wear helmets if they look better and fit well.
