For use during Bike Month in May or Brain Injury Awareness Month in October
Dear EDITOR:
Physicians Urge Bicycle Helmet Use
Every day, children across Texas put their lives at risk by riding their bicycles without a helmet. On behalf of physicians in ______ County and to help kick off Brain Injury Awareness Month in October (or Bike Month in May), I urge riders and their guardians to think safety first.
The tragedies associated with accidents involving cyclists who were not wearing a helmet have touched the lives of many Texans. The fact that head injuries can be reduced by 85 percent simply by strapping on a helmet makes it hard for us to understand why less than half of cyclists do so.
While medical advances occur rapidly, prevention is still the most effective protection against head injury. If you hurt your head or your brain, you could be changed forever or not recover at all.
Physicians across the state are actively involved in preventing head injury by putting helmets on our young citizens through Texas Medical Association's Hard Hats for Little Heads program. Since this bicycle helmet giveaway program began, physicians have helped protect some 60,000 children by giving them a helmet.
But our efforts alone are not enough.
Studies have shown that children are more likely to wear a helmet if their parents make it a rule. This month and always, we encourage parents to insist their children put on a helmet before they ride a bike and when they participate in any wheeled sport, including skateboarding and inline skating. And we ask that parents set the example by also putting on a helmet.
Name, ______ County Medical Society President
Last Updated On
April 23, 2018
Originally Published On
March 24, 2010