Recent legislation passed by the Colorado House of Representatives may require children under the age of 18 to wear a bicycle helmet while riding. The close vote, 33-32, brings the bill one step closer to becoming a law as it heads to the state senate chambers. This comes days after the state's governor, Bill Ritter, was treated for significant injuries related to a bicycle crash.
Proposed by Fort Collins Democratic Rep. John Kefalas, House Bill 1147 in voted into law, would make Colorado the 23 state, including the District of Columbia, to require youth bicycle riders to wear a helmet. Close to 200 local laws, also exist as an attempt to curb the number of bicycle-related injuries that occur annually.
Helmet Laws Reduce Medical Costs
The Child Safety Network reports that close to 200 children under the age of 15 die each year from a bicycle-related injury. Each year, close to 9,000 children are hospitalized and 344,000 additional children are treated in emergency rooms for injuries sustained from a bicycle accident. Because bicycle helmets can prevent 52 to 60 percent of bike-related traumatic head injury deaths, 68 to 85 percent of nonfatal head and scalp injuries and 65 percent of upper and middle face injuries, helmet laws are anticipated to drastically reduce total medical costs nationwide for bike-related injuries, especially those involving a traumatic brain injury.
A traumatic brain injury that is sustained during a bicycle accident carries heavy financial burdens. These type of injuries can result in costly medical bills, reduce future earnings due to permanent disability and impact overall quality of life costs. The CSN estimates that "if 85 percent of all child cyclists wore helmets in 1 year, the lifetime medical cost savings would total $197 to $256 million.
The Colorado government is estimated to save $110 per year in medical costs for each helmet that is worn - a figure that could result in $1 million a month in savings.
Traumatic Brain Injuries and Children
According to the United States Center for Disease Control, the following statistics reveal the number of children age 0 to 14 who fall victim to a traumatic brain injury:
* 2,685 deaths
* 37,000 hospitalizations
* 435,000 emergency department visits annually
Preventative measures to reduce the number of brain injuries that occur each year would be fiscally beneficial and would help improve the quality of life for active children - ensuring their safety during the activities they love. Preventative measures are anticipated to reduce the number of traumatic brain injury lawsuits filed by those seeking monetary compensation.
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