title: Bicycle-related injuries to children and parental attitudes regarding bicycle safety.
abstract: This study was designed to evaluate bicycle-related injuries among children requiring emergency treatment, assess the use of safety measures before and after injuries, and determine parental attitudes regarding bicycle safety. Six hundred fifty-eight children were treated for bicycle-related injuries during the study period. Follow-up contact with patients' families was made by telephone or mail within 2 months. Use of safety equipment other than brakes and reflectors occurred in less than 7% of cases. Less than 25% of children used hand signals. Sixty-eight percent of children reportedly owned a bicycle helmet before the injury, but only 26.1% "always" and 29.7% "never" wore a helmet. Given the high parental understanding of the importance of bicycle helmet use, more education and warnings alone are unlikely to increase helmet usage. Parents support a mandatory helmet use law, and therefore, local and state bicycle helmet ordinances and laws should be combined with education.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio 43205, USA.
authors.forename: Henry W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.forename: Brenda J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012449:Safety