Voice of the People

Wear Helmets At All Times

I wanted to write this last year at this time and didn’t take the time. After riding the Chesterton Duneland Trail last week, I can’t let it go by this year.

I have been bicycling for the past 13 years and have seen my share of accidents, having been involved in one myself. I can attest that helmets save lives as well as protect you from having a more serious injury.

Now most of you will say that you are only riding the trail and having a friendly family ride. Well, you are probably in a more vulnerable position to an accident than out on an open country road. Because many of the riders on the trail are casual riders or riders with small children, they are not being conscientious to what is going on around them. I try very hard to let other riders know that I am passing them on the left and slow down to see how the children respond and how their parents instruct them and I can tell you that they are not aware of how to react. I have had to come to a dead stop suddenly because of someone moving out to the left in front of me or deciding to turn around without warning. If you do not have a properly fitting helmet on your head and we have a collision, no matter how slow we are going, I guarantee you your head or your child’s head will hit the pavement very hard.

I don’t think I saw more than two people with helmets on their heads last Monday and there were a lot of people out on bikes enjoying the good weather. Helmets are not expensive compared to the cost of what a head injury to a loved one can mean to you. PLEASE protect you and your children by wearing helmets. Don’t think just putting helmets on your children are enough. Who will raise those children when you are in a nursing home facing the trauma of a head injury?

Mary Spruitenburg

Posted 4/25/2006