Advocacy & Safety - Schools and helmets...

Hey all,

On Friday, down the road from my high school, there is an intersection where the street my school is on (relativley quiet except when school ends) meets the main boulevard of the town. Well, right after school Friday, a kid from my school was riding down the street towards the intersection and ended up falling off his bike in the middle of the boulevard (don't ask me how). People that saw him in the street (but didn't see the accident itself) thought he was hit by a car because he was lying on the ground and wasn't moving. But it ended up he just fell. Of course (like everyone who rides to my school), he wasn't wearing a helmet and he cracked his skull, broke his nose and broke some teeth. What I want to know is: Can schools require that kids wear helmets to and from school? I remember hearing somewhere that the school is responsible for the student from the time they leave their house to the time they get back. Is that true? I just think that school (if possible) should require kids where helmets.

Thanks
Matt

The school can require whatever they want. What they can enforce is another question entirely. From what you described this happened outside school grounds. At some point personal responcibility should factor in to the equation.

I thought anyone under 18 years old in California was required by law to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. If someone isn't going to follow that law, then having a school rule might not make any difference.

That law is hardly enforced around here. Not that it matters to me, I oppose mandatory helmet laws for any age.

Maybe, but if it's brought to their attention, they're more likely to do what some schools around here have done. Kids are not allowed to arrive at school except in motorized transport. A friend made her kid walk the 3/4 mile to school, with sidewalks the whole way and a crosswalk with traffic light on the only intersection, and she got a call from the asst. principal saying if it happened again she'd be talking to CPS. If the kid misses the bus, you must drive them to school.

Maybe, but if it's brought to their attention, they're more likely to do what some schools around here have done. Kids are not allowed to arrive at school except in motorized transport. A friend made her kid walk the 3/4 mile to school, with sidewalks the whole way and a crosswalk with traffic light on the only intersection, and she got a call from the asst. principal saying if it happened again she'd be talking to CPS. If the kid misses the bus, you must drive them to school.

In Maryland, if you are within a mile of the school, you aren't allowed to be picked up by the bus.

Both my elementary and high schools were within a mile. As long as the weather was good, we walked!

.

Not allowed to walk to school? Absolute madness. I'm sorry he hurt himself falling but honestly that's how I thought I learned my skills was by riding, practicing and occasionally crashing. Who knows maybe he tried some trick that went awry. Bet he'll be wearing his brain bucket after this though.

The schools are barely responsible for what happens INSIDE let alone on the way home.

Helmets are the law in CA for underage kids. As this example shows, it makes a lot of sense. However, I happened to be reading the full text of the law, and there's a fairly major loophole. A parent or guardian, upon oath, can say that they didn't know that it was the law, and get off. And the fine is only like $25. So its pretty toothless.

If you complain to the school, what the school is most likely to do is forbid biking to school. At my daughter's school, they've removed all the bike lock-ups because they want to discourage this dangerous behaviour. Then they send home a school flyer with talking points -- and what are the two leading points? The terrible parking situation, and childhood obesity!

I can't imagine not being allowed to ride to school. My school was littered with bikes. How did we ever make it adulthood? I should have had my leg removed when I jumped from that tree and put a nail through my foot, as opposed to a tetnus shot and a "look before you leap" talk. When will the daft buggers in charge realize you can't legislate safety.... you need to learn it. They're called survival skills, and they come in all sorts of shapes and forms. On a tangent I see kids trying to do advanced tricks when they can barely handle their rides, same for the skaters. Learn your basics first!

Not allowed to walk to school, removing all the bike lock-ups because they want to discourage dangerous behaviour, how screwed up can things get?

*Meanwhile* Johnny knows where to get a nine for 150$, but we won't spend society's resources on getting rid of that dangerous behaviour. Someone could get hurt trying to enforce the not selling guns to kids rule. I'm completly mystified by the whole thing sometimes.

I wonder how many kids dying in car accidents it will take, before the schools start refusing to accept kids arriving at school in cars?

In Seattle there's a $50 fine or something for not wearing a helmet. Don't see it enforced much though.

I used to not wear my helmet riding to high school, but a few close calls wisened me up.

*Meanwhile* Johnny knows where to get a nine for 150$...
Really? Do you mind passing on this knowledge, Johnny? I could use a good $150 nine.

You wouldn't be just repeating some more "conventional wisdom" that you read about somewhere on the Internet? Or did you just make up your story about a mythical Johnnyto make some kind of clever point. Gosh I hope not.

I wonder how many kids dying in car accidents it will take, before the schools start refusing to accept kids arriving at school in cars?

I know what you mean. This school year alone, 4 students from the senior class have died in car accidents...

I know what you mean. This school year alone, 4 students from the senior class have died in car accidents...
What do you mean?
Were those 4 students killed driving to school, or are you opposed to students driving anywhere? At what age, if any, would you bless driving privileges?

What do you mean?
Were those 4 students killed driving to school, or are you opposed to students driving anywhere? At what age, if any, would you bless driving privileges?

I think he means, if they're discouraging the "dangerous" behavior of riding bikes to school, then they should be discouraging all dangerous transportation options.

Obviously, kids should be kept at home and taught via online education only. It's too dangerous to go outside.

Obesity clinics will have to be funded to make housecalls to those 14-year-olds who can't get through the door anymore.

Obviously, kids should be kept at home. . . .

Hey, I'm all for homeschooling!

The solution to the problem is a very simple equation:

(Kid)-(helmet)+(Bike) = "Go to the office and call your parents to have them come and get your bike."

I guarantee you that any parent who gets such a call will make damn sure their kid has their helmet and if the kid doesn't have a helmet, they'll be at Wallyworld buying one in a New York minute.

Kids are not allowed to arrive at school except in motorized transport. A friend made her kid walk the 3/4 mile to school, with sidewalks the whole way and a crosswalk with traffic light on the only intersection, and she got a call from the asst. principal saying if it happened again she'd be talking to CPS. If the kid misses the bus, you must drive them to school.

Do you have the name of the school and it's location. I'd like to check it out on Google Earth to see exactly what they are talking about. At the school where I teach, we have kids bussed some rediculously short distances because of some busy intersections where a crossing guard would do the trick just fine and save the district some major $$$ in transportation costs.

The solution to the problem is a very simple equation:

(Kid)-(helmet)+(Bike) = "Go to the office and call your parents to have them come and get your bike."

I guarantee you that any parent who gets such a call will make damn sure their kid has their helmet and if the kid doesn't have a helmet, they'll be at Wallyworld buying one in a New York minute.

I've gone through this when our province enacted an all ages mandatory helmet law 10 years ago.

I'll bet it's just as likely that the kid just won't ride his bike anymore. That'll be better for everyone, right?

I've gone through this when our province enacted an all ages mandatory helmet law 10 years ago.

I'll bet it's just as likely that the kid just won't ride his bike anymore. That'll be better for everyone, right?

I doubt that a kid will be driven to school under such circumstances. Parents might make the kid walk until he saves up the money for a helmet. The parents at my school don't like being inconvenienced.

I doubt that a kid will be driven to school under such circumstances. Parents might make the kid walk until he saves up the money for a helmet. The parents at my school don't like being inconvenienced.

Bikes were a popular way to get to school, but no more.

I should also add, those that did get a helmet, still rode the wrong way in traffic, rode without lights and rode on sidewalks. Consequently, the accident rate didn't change at all, and there were fewer bicycle riders so we're actually worse off.

I do not know if the school system in my community requires the kids to wear a helmet if they ride bike to shcool. But I do know that when a kid leaves school the school is responsible for them until they "check" in at what ever their destination is. That could be home & church, day care, place of employment, etc.

We now have brand new middle schools built right next door to the high schools. For the kids that are bussed to & from school on some of the busses there are both middle & high school kids. The bus will drop the kids off at one school, pull back onto the street or go through the drive way depending on how what the access is to the other school, then drop the kids off at that school. I think this is a waste of school system resources & it does not promote physical fitness. Aren't our kids fat enough as it is?

Here is an example. At North High & North Middle School, the 2 schools are seperated by a hill with a nice steep set of stairs that goes up to the high school campus. There is no interconnecting driveway. So the bus drops the middle school kids off first, pulls back onto the street, into the high school campus & drops those kids off. Why not just drop all of the kids off at one location & have those that attend the other school walk? For one by having the bus pull back onto the street the risk of an traffic accident is increased.

An even better idea would be to get rid of bussing all together & make the kids ride thier bikes & or walk to school. This of course is for those that do not drive or are driven to school. I do know there are high school kids who drive that have siblings in middle school. They drive to their school, park & their sibling walks over to their middle school & walks back after school.

Bikes were a popular way to get to school, but no more.
Still are popular here. These pictures were taken this past fall at the elementary school about a mile from my house. No helmet law, rule or edit. Also no problems. Go figure!

Still are popular here. These pictures were taken this past fall at the elementary school about a mile from my house. No helmet law, rule or edit. Also no problems. Go figure!

My wife worked at an elementary school and the principal responded to kids not wearing helmets by banning them from bringing their bikes onto school property, and if they did, the bikes were confiscated.

Kids are not allowed to arrive at school except in motorized transport.

My wife worked at an elementary school and the principal responded to kids not wearing helmets by banning them from bringing their bikes onto school property, and if they did, the bikes were confiscated.
Absolutely pathetic. Here's an article I read today just before visiting BF. We have politicians seeing how fat and obese and out-of-shape children are and want to encourage children to eat less and exercise more, yet on the other hand, we have these idiot school superintendents who ban exercise because children might get hurt and their parents will sue them. :rolleyes: Come on $100+ oil! That will get rid of some of these stupid policies.

Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University's School of Medicine, drew the timeline that's seen the rise in obesity in adults and children, and the rise of type 2 diabetes among children and youths -- a disease that almost never used to appear among children.

Governors urge change in eating culture (http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/02/25/governors_urge_change_in_eating_culture/)

We have politicians seeing how fat and obese and out-of-shape children are and want to encourage children to eat less and exercise more, yet on the other hand, we have these idiot school superintendents who ban exercise because children might get hurt and their parents will sue them.

Lets not forget in a study for the British Medical Association, Mayer Hillman found that the health benefits of regular cycling, in terms of life years gained, far outweighed the actuarial loss of life from road accidents. Put a different way: Hillman demonstrated the risk of not cycling.

Yeah, but the kids won't die from lack of exercise when they are young and in school. That's all that matters to the schools - keeps kids from getting hurt & dying while under their supervision. To hell with what happens to them in the future, we ain't getting sued.

I dont think they can, trhey can require anything on school ground but that's the limit. they cannnot control transportation to and from school, They are responsible for knowing if the child will use school transportations or be a "walker" or someone who'd being driven to and from school but they cannot tell a child or enforce a child to use a helmet as they cannot enforce a child to waer a seat belt while being driven away from school ground. I would say this is an issue again that should be enforced by the parent of this child or by giving children enough knowlege to know the risk of not waering a helmet and this issue is allready adressed here in NH by law enforcement who visit the schools twice a year to talk safety and by the pediatrician associations.

To hell with what happens to them in the future, we ain't getting sued.

Don't educators have a moral obligation to teach properly and to set standards of behavior for life and isn't this against those ideals?

It seems to me, some educators just need to be properly informed on the issue and not subcome to some ill informed propoganda.

I would say this is an issue again that should be enforced by the parent of this child or by giving children enough knowlege to know the risk of not waering a helmet and this issue is allready adressed here in NH by law enforcement who visit the schools twice a year to talk safety and by the pediatrician associations.

Agreed, schools, parents, law enforcement, pediatricians and advocacy goups working together on getting the message across via a well designed education program is the way to go instead of placing a legal responsibility on one entity or another without any proper guidelines. Education should build sufficient awareness and make clear whose responsibility belongs to who.

At this stage, schools should feel comfortable to impose disciplinary measures for kids who show up without a helmet (strapped on their head :rolleyes: ) within school grounds ; cops to issue citations without being scolded by parents, and parents to impose the proper conditions.

Don't educators have a moral obligation to teach properly and to set standards of behavior for life and isn't this against those ideals?

It seems to me, some educators just need to be properly informed on the issue and not subcome to some ill informed propoganda.
Maybe it would help if schools were sued for failing to teach kids properly instead of failure to keep them "safe."

Our provincial bicycle advocate news group recently had an email asking,


Does anybody recall the Coroner's Report on Deaths of Cyclists in British Columbia, which came out in 1996. If not, it can be viewed here: http://www.helmets.org/bcstudy.htm

At the time, the recommendations from Ujjal Dosanjh, Minister of Attorney General, talked a lot about the Province setting up a Bike Smarts course and increasing the education and skills training for cyclists in BC, blah, blah, blah. I recall the Bike Smarts course being around for maybe two years and then dying. The issue of cyclist training/education keeps coming up whenever I meet with our local cycling coalition or when I talk to other people about cycling in the community.

I responded,


I do. I have my own copy. Along with the report was an additional comment with the official British Columbia letterhead slipped in the cover that said, "The reports' first, and perhaps most important recomendation, was for legislation requiring cyclists to wear helmets."

The law passed, the rest didn't matter. All the other recomondations were secondary after this goal was acheived. It looks as if the recomondations were dropped.

So it seems, that education of BC school kids in cycling, although recomended, isn't important enough to fund, even when there was a promise to do so after the MHL passed.

There hasn't been much emphasis on funding for education here, even though most seem to agree it's perhaps the most important buiding block of safe road use. I have to give credit for those few who do manage to do good job in teaching the few courses that are avalible. Without them we'd have nothing. It's just that so much funding was promised to make sure the kids got this education, and that hasn't happened so what we have is a mere shadow of what was promised. It seems, once the kids were in helmets, everyone move onto something else seemingly because they felt that the kids were now, "safe enough"

he cracked his skull,

Just curious Matt. What exactly did you mean when you posted, "he cracked his skull"?

Do you mean you're sure he fractured his skull or did he just just hit his head? How sure are you of the extent of the injury? Any idea how or if he recovered?

(I'd be willing to bet he got up and was OK outside of a bump and a cut, if not and it was more serious, I'd also think more people would want to know)

My wife worked at an elementary school and the principal responded to kids not wearing helmets by banning them from bringing their bikes onto school property, and if they did, the bikes were confiscated.
Sounds like there are some people where you live who are not defenders of freedom, eh?

...not defenders of freedom? ...they just lack common sense.

automobile travel is the leading cause of death and injury to youth, yet somehow, someone, has decided a bicycle is more dangerous.

Defenders of freedom? What an antiquated concept..... freedom.....freedom

...not defenders of freedom? ...they just lack common sense.

Agree about a lack of common sense. How do the involved parents react to the principal's "common sense" driven confiscation of their (children's) property? Is that legal in your neck of the woods?

Frighteningly it most likely is legal here, the principle being the czar of the yard. Now how long they might keep it ... who knows. There is a distinct lack of common sense all through this issue. Kids not allowed to ride their bikes....insane

How do the involved parents react to the principal's "common sense" driven confiscation of their (children's) property? Is that legal in your neck of the woods?

The principal does have some discrection on his grounds, and the confiscations were very few and had other factors involved including non-involved parents.

Like I said, bikes were a popular way to get to school, but no more. My guess about what parents think is, is that it's better to not ride than to ride without a helmet. But that's just my guess.

My guess about what parents think is, is that it's better to not ride than to ride without a helmet.

Illegal here in Ontario for kids, all skid lids all the time in the saddle.

...a kid from my school was riding down the street towards the intersection and ended up falling off his bike in the middle of the boulevard (don't ask me how)...he wasn't wearing a helmet and he cracked his skull, broke his nose and broke some teeth. What I want to know is: Can schools require that kids wear helmets to and from school?
Here in Georgia, it's the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian (or any business that rents bikes) to insure kids have a helmet when they ride a bike. Parents who don't do this can be fined, but I don't know if schools can be held responsible.

Like I said, bikes were a popular way to get to school, but no more. My guess about what parents think is, is that it's better to not ride than to ride without a helmet. But that's just my guess.
My guess is that your principal probably notes his "safety acomplishment" (measured in number of children/parents hassled by him over helmetless cycling) on his yearly performance listing of accomplishments. Probably considers the confiscations as bonus points.

No children cycling=no helmetless cyclists=good "safety awareness" instilled by said principal.

Luckily not everyone in authority is under the influence of the Helmet Safety Nanny patrol.

Luckily not everyone in authority is under the influence of the Helmet Safety Nanny patrol.

+10

no helmetless cyclists=good "safety awareness"

No Bike Smarts courses + no helmetless cyclists = good "safety awareness" = :(

No Bike Smarts courses + no helmetless cyclists = good "safety awareness" = :(
No bicyclists =no need for Bike Smarts courses; another cost saving suggestion for your principal and other Safety Nannies to add to their list of accomplishments

hmmm teach your kids some street/bike/skate general life smarts and don't spoon feed them = Smarts for Life.

Maybe Mr. Safety Nannie Principal is trying to cover his own butt-Like if lil Johnny busted his helmetless head on school grounds, and his parents decided to make a lawsuit out of it. Sounds ridiculous, but that's the way our society's been headed for quite some time.

100% It's not that his concerned about the kids heads' it's his ass he's worried about. This is more frightening than Safety Ninnies, at least you can argue with a safety ninnies, there's no argument for this, because it's so true and way too likely.

I always love the way it's ALWAYS someone else's fault when somebody falls over, slips, spills coffee, trips or does something stupid. Glad I fell out of trees and jumped creek rocks before this hysteria took over, I had a blast as a kid.