Nowadays, it’s a no-brainer that wearing a helmet can keep you safe when biking or playing sports. Most of the impact energy from a fall or collision is absorbed by the helmet, rather than your head and brain. But picking the right one isn’t quite so easy. There are a lot of things to keep in mind to make sure your helmet will protect you.
Different sports require different helmets. The two most common types of helmets are single-impact and multi-impact. Bike helmets are considered single-impact because they’re designed to protect you from a hard blow such as a fall off a bicycle. Helmets for most other sports, like hockey, are considered multi-impact because they’re designed to withstand repeated blows.
Use these tips from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to help you find the right helmet:
* Always try on a helmet before buying it to ensure that it will fit properly. If you’re buying a helmet for your children, take them with you so that they can try the helmets on.
* A helmet should fit snugly; it should not slide around on your head, or be so tight that it pinches or gives you a headache. The helmet fits it if sits level on your head, not tilted back or forward over your eyes. Once secured, you should not be able to move the helmet around on your head.
* No matter what type of helmet you buy, always check the safety sticker on the inside to make sure it is approved by the CPSC.
* Replace your helmet every three to five years, after a crash, or if you notice any cracks or chips.
Before you hop on your bike or step into the rink, use your head and put on your helmet. Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of a serious head injury and even save your life.
You can find further guidelines on choosing the right helmet for a specific activity in the CPSC’s PDF guide “Which Helmet for Which Activity” at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/349.pdf.
4 Comments on "Use Your Head"
jboo
these are such important tips. i have several friends whose lives were saved by having helmets that fit correctly!
Jerri
Hey - a bad hair day is better than a no head day, which is what could happen if you don’t wear your helmet
Celeste
The “Reforma” diary from Mexico, have new informtaion about missing person Dana Rishpy (in fact she’s missing since march 30, 2007), it says principal suspect is Matthew Ryan Walshin, but mexican autorities have not do anything to report to american police about this, he is really a dangerous man, I want to know why he is not in the most wanted list?
Rayne
When I was 12 I survived a bicycle accident only because of my helmet. The damage that was done to my helmet was so great, that once off it was removed, you couldn’t get it back on because of the dent that was there. I was on my bike, going up hill, very fast, I was on the correct side of the road as close to the curb as I could be. Someone parked on the wrong side of the road, a car came up behind me, decided they didn’t like having to wait for a bicyclist, so they honked, scared me, I lost control of my bike in panic and hit the car head first. I lost 2 teeth, had 2 black eyes, servere whip-lash that was mistaken for a broken neck until the x-rays came back, and where my forehead had hit the car, I would be either dead or serverly brain-damaged if it weren’t for the helmet. (Thankgoodness not only had it been a town law, but my parents had told us children we were not to touch our bikes without a helmet.) I am now 28 and my helmet sits even now on my handle bike as an ever present reminder to always wear it. Btw, I should also add to drivers, getting right up on a biker and then honking is not a good idea, give a biker as much room as you would a parked car that has a door that could suddenly open.
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