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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled 31,100 bicycle helmets in the U.S. and 2,500 bike helmets from Canada’s marketplace, which were manufactured in Taiwan and imported by Bell Sports, a company with a relatively large percentage of the market share in helmet sales. The CPSC noted the reason for the recall is that the buckles on the chin straps may detach and the helmets can fall off suddenly. There has been a report that the buckles on a helmet did detach during an accident, causing the helmet to fall off and a rider to receive injuries requiring stitches.

The Bell Exodus helmets are full-face helmets with a plastic buckle on the chinstrap. The color(s), model and part numbers of the recalled helmets are listed below. The helmets have an angled visor and were sold in youth size. The model and part numbers are located on a removable sticker on the side of the helmet. The helmets were sold at Walmart stores nationwide and on Amazon.com between August 2009 and March 2011 for from $50-60.

Bell Exodus Helmets

Color

Part/Model Number

Orange/Grey/Black

1003825/035011898025

Blue/Grey/Gold/White/Black

1006714/035011917719

In spite of the fact that some helmets have problems, there are reasons we need to make sure kids have and wear protective bike helmets when they ride bikes. May 2011 was Bike Safety Month, and the SafeKids May newsletter pointed out that bikes are “associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except automobiles.” “Child bicycling deaths increase 45% above the month average in the summer. With 27.7 million children riding bikes, …too many of those kids [are] riding without a helmet.” A helmet is the single, most effective device available to reduce head injuries and death in children from a bicycle crash. Yes, a bicycle helmet must be properly adjusted, and not rock back and forth on the head or from one side to the other, but fit snuggly on top of the head for the maximum protection. Also it should have a chin strap with an adjustable buckle to help keep the helmet in place.

Head injuries are serious and can be life-threatening. Whether the rider is on a bicycle or a motorcycle, when a helmet is worn, the wearer has more protection than if he or she is not wearing a helmet. According to the Journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, in an article entitled, “Motorcyclist Fatality Rates and Mandatory Helmet Use Laws” by D.J. Huston and L.E. Richardson (2008) 40(1): 200-8, “Depending on the particular measure that is employed, states with universal helmet laws have motorcyclist fatality rates that are on average 22-33% lower in comparison to the experience with no helmet law. Additionally, partial coverage helmet laws are associated with reductions in motorcyclist fatality rates of 7-10%, on average.”

HHS Health Beat says that wearing a helmet can save young adults’ heads in a motorcycle crash. Researchers at HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have numbers to show it, according to Ira Dreyfuss of HHS Healthbeat (May 25, 2011): www.hhs.gov/news/healthbeat/2011/05/20110525a.html

Researching data from 38 states on hospitalizations of youth under 21, Claudia Steiner compared states that required every rider to wear a helmet with states that required only people under a certain age, such as 18 or 21, to wear one: “Traumatic brain injury rates were higher in states that require riders only under a certain age to wear helmets.” Steiner’s theory is that in some states which do not require every rider to wear a helmet, some young people have been riding without one. Steiner is, of course, a proponent for universal helmet laws – and helmet-wearing.

So, whether the child or the young adult in your family is riding a bicycle or a motorcycle, helmets are important head protection. Make sure they—and you, if you ride—wear one!

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