Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Keeping kids safe from bicycle accidents
Massachusetts child injury lawyer Thomas M. Kiley concentrates on legal issues surrounding children’s injuries. May is National Bicycle Safety Month and parents should educate themselves on how to keep their children safe while riding bikes.
USA Safekids has advice for parents on safety tips. There are 70% of children ages 5-14, or 27.7 million, children riding bicycles. They want parents to know that bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any consumer product except the automobile. In 2001, 134 children ages 14 and under died in bicycle-related accidents. It is estimated that collisions with motor vehicles account for nearly 90 percent of all bicycle-related deaths, and 10 percent of all nonfatal bicycle-related injuries.
In 2002, there were 288,900 children treated in hospital emergency rooms from bicycle injuries. More children ages 5 to 14 are seen in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to bicycle riding than any other sport.
Wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries by 85%. Only about 15-25% of children wear their bike helmets. Unfortunately, almost half of bike related hospitalizations result in traumatic brain injury. Nearly half (47 percent) of children ages 14 and under hospitalized for bicycle-related injuries are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. More than two-thirds of bicycle-related hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits are for bicycling injuries. The best safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet. Helmet use reduces the risk of bicycle-related death and injury and the severity of head injury when a crash occurs.
In a national survey of children ages 8 to 12, 53% reported that a parental rule for helmet use would persuade them to wear a helmet, and 49% would wear a helmet if a state or community law required it. Nineteen states, the District of Columbia and numerous localities have enacted some form of bicycle helmet legislation.
According to the USA Safe Kids Bicycle Safety report, children are more likely to die from automobile-related bicycle crashes at non-intersection locations. These accidents occur mostly during the months of April through October, and between 2 pm and 8 pm. Children are four times more likely to be injured during non-daylight hours—at dawn, dusk, or night, rather than during the daytime. And 60% of childhood bicycle-related deaths occur on secondary roads. The typical crash with an automobile occurs within just one mile of the child’s home.
And statistics show that most accidents occur because of mistakes made by the bicyclist. More than 80% of bicycle-related deaths occur when the bicyclist is riding into a street without stopping, turning left or swerving into traffic that is coming from behind, running a stop sign and riding against the flow of traffic.
What can parents do to protect their children from bicycle injuries? The most important thing parents can do is require their children to wear a bicycle helmet that meets or exceeds the safety standards developed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The helmet should sit level on the top of the child’s head and should not rock forward or backward, or slide from side to side. The straps should be buckled but not too tightly.
Another important safety tip is to make sure the bicycle itself is the proper fit for the child. Bring your child with you when shopping for a bike, buy the bike to fit the child now not one he/she can grow into When sitting on the seat, the child’s feet should touch the ground.
Parents should make sure the children learn the rules of the road and obey all traffic laws. They should have their children ride on the right side of the road with traffic, not against, use the appropriate hand signals, stop for all stop signs and stop lights, and look both ways before entering a street. Bicycling should be restricted to sidewalks and bike paths until a child is age 10 and able to show how well he/she knows the basic rules.
When you are interviewing Massachusetts personal injury lawyers ask critical questions, like: how long have you been practicing; what is the largest settlement or verdict you've obtained, and do you have experience with child injuries? Kiley Law Group, located in Boston and Andover, Massachusetts takes time when speaking with you about your case and works with you on a contingent basis so there are NO FEES unless our trained Boston child injury lawyers wins your case. Call now for a FREE evaluation of your case – 1-888-208-1695.
