[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 46 (Monday, April 25, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                ``HEADSMART: HELMETS FIRST FOR SAFETY''

 Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, I rise to bring to the 
Senate's attention an important Minnesota community program that is 
saving lives--HeadSmart: Helmets First for Safety effort. This program 
is part of the National Head Injury Foundation's HeadSmart injury 
prevention program.
  In Congress, we have debated the best way to prevent head injuries. 
The two schools of thought have been to employ either the carrot or the 
stick approach: to support local safety education efforts; or to 
mandate usage at the Federal level. I am on record in strong support of 
the former strategy. My State of Minnesota has provided numerous 
examples of the success their local support for safety programs has had 
on vehicle related deaths. It is the local programs that cooperatively 
produce the desired results. The rule of the Federal Government should 
be to support and encourage such programs, rather than to dictate them.
  The Minnesota Helmets First For Safety Program is a voluntary effort 
which focuses on bike safety and bicycle helmet use. It started in 1991 
in St. Cloud, MN, as a partnership between the Minnesota Head Injury 
Association and the St. Cloud Hospital. After 3 successful years in the 
St. Cloud area, the program expanded to all Minnesota schools. At least 
54 schools are now involved.
  A bicycle is not a toy. It is a child's first vehicle and can be 
dangerous. Yet, fewer than 2 percent of America's children wear bicycle 
helmets. This is why the Minnesota Helmets First for Safety program is 
so very important. It saves lives and prevents crippling injuries to 
this Nation's most treasured resource--our children.
  Head injury is the leading cause of death and disability for children 
and young adults in the United States. More young children die from 
bicycle injuries than from poisoning, falls, or firearm injuries.
  Approximately 400 to 500 children die each year from bicycle 
injuries, with head injury being the most common cause. Three-fourths 
of bicycle injury deaths are due to head injury and two-thirds of 
bicycle injury-related hospitalizations are due to head injury.
  Wearing a helmet when bicycling reduces head injury risk by 85 
percent. In Minnesota in 1992 there were 1,343 crashes that involved a 
motor vehicle and a bicycle. Eleven bicyclists were killed; 1,249 were 
injured.
  The need to prevent head injuries is obvious. These injuries cause 
permanent damage that affect a person's livelihood. And, there is 
nothing more tragic than learning of a young life being shattered by a 
preventable but permanent head injury.
  To drive this point home, Mr. President, let me submit for the Record 
two letters on this point. One letter is written by the parents of 
Jeremy Marks urging other parents to make sure their children wear 
bicycle helmets. Last fall, Jeremy was hit by a car while riding his 
bicycle in the neighborhood park. Jeremy was not wearing a helmet and 
suffered a severe brain injury that has regrettably changed his young 
life.
  The other letter is just as poignant, but has a happier ending. It is 
written by the parents of 5-year old Jason. Jason was also hit by a car 
when riding his bicycle. But, because Jason was wearing a helmet, his 
injuries, while severe, were repairable.
  Two children, two bicycle accidents, two different results--all 
because of a helmet.
  Mr. President, I've always supported personal responsibility over 
mandates. And this program is the perfect example of how successful 
voluntary helmet use programs can be. We must applaud the contributors 
and participants to Minnesota's HeadSmart: Helmets First for Safety 
programs and their efforts to boost personal responsibility and 
education through the organization and promotion of such lifesaving 
programs.
  To conclude, Mr. President, let me ask that the following seven tips 
for parents to get their children to wear a bicycle helmet be put into 
the Record, and I urge all Senators to read them and pass them on to 
their family and constituents.
  The material follows:

                                                    February 1994.
       Dear Parents: In October of 1993, our 13-year-old son, 
     Jeremy, was hit by a car while riding his bicycle from a 
     neighborhood park to a friend's house. He suffered a 
     traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for 2\1/2\ weeks. He 
     was in the hospital for 9 weeks, and now, after four months, 
     he cannot do all the things he would like to do.
       Jeremy is not able to participate in his favorite sports. 
     His friendships have changed. He must now attend special 
     education classes, because he has learning difficulties and 
     problems with attention and concentration. However, he is 
     still one of the lucky ones. He's alive and he's continuing 
     to show improvement.
       Jeremy was not wearing a bicycle helmet. If he had been, he 
     would not have sustained such a serious injury and would not 
     be facing the difficulties that challenge him today.
       Like most parents, we didn't realize that each year 
     hundreds of children are killed or disabled in bike 
     accidents. Now we know first-hand the potential seriousness 
     of a bike-related injury and how deeply the lives of 
     children, their families and friends are affected--changed 
     forever.
       We strongly encourage you and your children to wear a 
     helmet every time you go for a bike ride. An accident can 
     happen anytime and anywhere. Helmets have been proved to save 
     lives and prevent brain injuries.
       Please become HeadSmart.
           Caringly,
                                              Jill and Phil Marks.
                                  ____


    [From the St. Paul Pioneer Press Bulletin Board, Mar. 14, 1994]

                    A Letter From Penny of Roseville

       This letter is a plea, for the whole world: Do you know 
     someone who rides a bike and does not wear a helmet? Sounds 
     silly to a lot of folk--and who hasn't heard the millions of 
     excuses? ``Nobody wears them.'' ``Everyone will laugh.'' 
     ``It'll never happen to us.''
       Well, it did; it happened to someone in our family. My son 
     Jason was anxious to ride his bike. Whose child is not? The 
     snow is going down at a rapid pace, and the streets were 
     clear; only the sand remained. The day was cool and windy, 
     but the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day to be riding 
     a bike. ``Get your jacket on with the hood.'' ``OK.'' ``Don't 
     forget your helmet.'' ``I've got it on.'' Within a few 
     minutes, as parts of my family were sitting in the living 
     room, we heard it--a parent's nightmare: the skidding of an 
     automobile, and then we all knew what was coming next. My 
     heart could feel it before my ears heard it: Thud. 
     Something--or someone--had made an impact.
       To our dismay, our son, 5 years old, Jason, was hit. Yes, 
     it never happens to you what was happening to us. Our lives 
     would be changing from that moment on, and we knew it. How, 
     we didn't know at the time. As the paramedics were examining 
     Jason, they could only find a left femur broken. His face was 
     pretty beat up, with a large scrape to the front of the 
     forehead, but no softness to the skull. The first question 
     asked: ``was he hearing a helmet?'' We could at least say: 
     ``Yes.'' Seems like a small word--``Yes''--but that small 
     word made a difference in our son's world today. As I am 
     writing this, at the foot of my son's bed at Children's 
     Hospital, he's alive, with only a broken left leg. But he is 
     alive.
       If anyone of you knows it could never happen to you or 
     someone you love, please get up immediately and go out and 
     get a helmet for the one you love. Jason's grandparents did, 
     and we can never repay them for saving our son's life.
                                  ____


          Tips for Getting Your Child To Wear a Bike Helmet\1\

       1. Make it a rule that everyone in your family wears a 
     helmet on every ride. Wear a helmet yourself. Don't ride or 
     let your child ride without a helmet even occasionally. It's 
     easy to be fooled into thinking that you don't need a helmet 
     because you've been riding without one and haven't been 
     injured so far.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     \1\Adapted from ``Tips for Getting Your Kids to Wear Bicycle 
     Helmets,'' TIPP (The Injury Preventive Program), American 
     Academy of Pediatrics, sponsored by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals 
     Corporation, Pediatric Division.
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       2. Start your children out with helmets as soon as they 
     begin riding--even tricycles or ``Big Wheels.'' Let your 
     child help pick out a helmet and decorate it with stickers. 
     If your child has already begun riding without a helmet, make 
     a new rule--``no helmet, no bike.''
       3. Explain why helmets are important. Talk about why you 
     want to protect your brain and your child's. Find a book in 
     the library that explains how the brain works. Talk about 
     what can happen if your brain gets hurt in terms a child can 
     understand without getting frightened. Wearing a helmet is 
     HeadSmart.
       4. Use professional athletes as examples: football, 
     baseball, and hockey players, race car drivers, etc. Children 
     may not know that professional bike racers wear helmets; 
     helmets are required in skateboard competitions and even some 
     competitive ski events. Get a picture or poster for you 
     child's room of a bicycle racer or other athlete wearing a 
     helmet.
       5. Praise your children for wearing their helmets. Tell 
     them they look great--like a race car driver (or whatever 
     will make them feel good about wearing a helmet). Compliment 
     other children on being HeadSmart enough to wear a helmet.
       6. Participate in neighborhood, scouting or school bike 
     safety activities. Encourage other parents to support helmet 
     use.
       7. Don't let your attitudes discourage your children from 
     being HeadSmart! Studies show that it is often the parents 
     who think helmets are socially ``uncool.'' For children, 
     especially young children, wearing a helmet does not have the 
     negative social significance their parents might attach to 
     it.

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