Child Bicycle Accidents Are More Common Than You Think l Seattle Child Injury Specialist

Other than automobiles, bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product. More than 70% of children ages 5 to 14 (27.7 million) ride bicycles. This age group rides 50% more than the average cyclist, accounting for 21% of all bicycle-related deaths and nearly 50% of all bicycle-related injuries.

More than 130 children die every year in bicycle accidents and approximately 270,000 are treated in emergency rooms for injuries (Source: Safe Kids USA, www.safekids.org). Nearly half of these children sustain a traumatic brain injury because of their failure to wear a helmet or because of wearing an unsafe or improperly fitted helmet.

Studies have shown that a properly fitted helmet can reduce the risk of bicycle-related brain injuries by as much as 88%. Properly fitted bike helmets can prevent an estimated 75% of fatal head injuries to children each year. Motor vehicles are involved in approximately 90% of the fatal bike crashes that happen each year. About 60% of child fatalities in bike-versus-auto crashes occur on residential streets.

Parents need to realize that a child who does not wear a helmet is 14 times more likely to suffer a fatal crash than one who does. Clearly, all children should wear properly fitted helmets while riding a bicycle. The chances of injury and/or death decrease dramatically when wearing a protective helmet.

For some reason, my office has seen an increase in accident and injury claims involving children. I can't explain the increase, but there are more children who have sustained a traumatic brain injury in many auto and bicycle accidents. I discuss child injury claims in greater detail in my new book Little Kids, Big Accidents: What Every Parent Should Know About Children and Accidents. Order your free copy at www.childaccidentbook.com.