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Before You Ride

Wear a Helmet

No matter what your mother tells you, your best asset is not your devilish good looks - it's your brain.
Without your brain, you wouldn't be able to name all the state capitals, recite the alphabet, crack knock-knock jokes or remember all the good times you've had with friends. Your brain is also responsible for regulating the stuff you don't want to think about, like breathing and growing.

 

Do yourself and your brain a favor and wear a helmet. Whether you're into biking, skateboarding, contact sports or riding a motorcycle, ATV or snowmobile, it is important to always protect your melon. For kids and adults, wearing a helmet is the most effective way to prevent a life-threatening head injury.

 

Remember these important statistics from the Brain Injury Association of America:

• Males are 1.5 times more likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries than females
• Wearing a helmet reduces the risk of serious head and brain injury by 85 percent
• Kids under four and 15-19 year olds are at the highest risk for traumatic brain injury

 

Why Wear A Helmet?

It's simple: scrambled brains are not flattering. If you fall or crash, your helmet takes the brunt of the blow, not your head. You might think that a helmet looks goofy, but tolerating a helmet for a couple of hours is far easier than living with a brain injury for the remainder of your life.

 

How Does It All Work anyway?

Helmets are designed with a layer of crushable foam that absorbs the impact from a fall. When a person crashes and hits a hard surface, the foam of the helmet crushes, controlling the force of the blow and extending their head's stopping time by about six thousandths of a second. This fraction of a second is long enough to reduce the peak impact to the brain. The thicker the foam is the better. Thicker foam gives a person's head more room and milliseconds to stop.

 

Protect Your Melon

Wearing a helmet is the best way to protect against a traumatic head injury. So, if you don't already own a helmet (which you should), go out and get one! The National Highway Traffic Administration makes buying a helmet easy, by offering these tips:

• Choose a helmet that fits snugly on your head. While sitting flat on your head the helmet shouldn't move from side to side when you shake your head.
• The helmet should sit level on your head and low on your forehead-one or two finger-widths above your eyebrow.
• Buckle your chin strap. Tighten the strap until it is snug, so that no more than one or two fingers fit under the strap. Yawn big, your helmet should pull down on your head.
• Check to be sure your helmet has a seal of approval from organizations like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or Snell Memorial Foundation
• Your head grows as fast as you do. Which means you should replace your helmet every three to four years.
• Remember: A helmet only works if it is buckled and fits properly.

 

Your brain is irreplaceable. Any brain damage you suffer will be with you for the rest of your life. Don't let a leisurely ride or activity turn into a tragedy. Protect Your melon!