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Did You Know? A helmet can reduce the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent, according to data gathered by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. The American Medical Association calls a bike helmet the single most cost-effective safety device ever made. Meet with a AAA Counselor Saturday hours at many locations. |
May is Bike Safety Month
An unconscious young child being rushed into an emergency room is a heart-wrenching scene fraught with the possibility that the lives of the child and the parents will be forever changed. Unfortunately, this scene is played out daily at trauma centers across the country. A simple helmet, worn properly, can save a child’s life.
>May is Bike Safety Month – The Facts
>Heads Up – Helmets on when bike riding
>How to choose the best bike helmet
>Sharing the road with bicycles –
How we all can make a difference
>AAA Roadwise Review –
A Tool to Help Seniors Drive Safely Longer
>Get involved with your legislature
May is Bike Safety Month - The Facts
Each year, doctors and nurses treat thousands of children with severe head injuries resulting from a fall or collision while riding a bike, roller skates, scooter or skateboard. Many of these traumatic brain injuries lead to death or severe disability.
- Nearly half of the children ages 14 and under hospitalized for bicycle-related injuries are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. Those children who do survive often spend the rest of their lives dealing with paralysis, speech problems, depression, anxiety and the loss of motor skills. It is a fate that is avoidable.
- A helmet can reduce the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent, according to data gathered by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. The American Medical Association calls a bike helmet the single most cost-effective safety device ever made. Yet fewer than half (41 percent) of kids ages 5 to 14 wear helmets when participating in wheeled activities, and more than a third (35 percent) of children who use helmets wear them improperly, according to a national field study released by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and Bell Sports in 2004.
- Children, especially 'tweens (ages 8 to 12) may think helmets are uncool. Skilled young riders may think that a serious fall couldn’t happen to them, yet many accidents are unavoidable and more damaging than children and parents may realize. Experts tell us that a fall from as little as two feet can result in a traumatic brain injury.
Heads Up – Helmets On When Bike Riding
AAA encourages parents to make bike helmets a part of their child’s game plan.
“Point out cyclists like Lance Armstrong as a ‘cool’ example,” suggested Sojeila Orengo, manager of traffic safety programs for AAA Auto Club South. “Bicycling, but also hockey, race car driving, skateboarding, and in-line skating are all sports that require protective uniforms. A helmet is part of that uniform.”
Studies show that parents who lead by example make a measurable difference in use of helmets by their children. “Parents who sport helmets when they ride may be the most important factor in their kids’ choice to wear a helmet,” said Orengo. “Remember, it’s a simple, affordable habit you can foster to save your child’s life.”
How to Choose the Best Bike Helmet
Look inside of the bike helmets you are considering to find the label. Choose one that meets safety standards developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Snell Memorial Foundation, or the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
- Worn properly, the helmet should sit on the head so that the front rim is just above the eyebrows.
- Before buckling the chin strap, have your child shake his head from side to side. If the helmet moves too much, it’s too big and won’t protect his head no matter how tight you pull the chin strap.
- Adjust the size with foam inserts supplied by the manufacturer. The helmet should be comfortable and snug, but not too tight.
- When the chinstrap is buckled, your child should be able to open his mouth and feel the helmet press firmly against the top of his or her head.
Sharing the Road – How We All Can Make a Difference
There are more than a half-million collisions between motor vehicles and bicycles occurring in the United States each year as children take to the streets on their first vehicle. Many of these incidents are the result of the motorists’ failure to properly yield to bicyclists.
- Motorists need to increase their awareness of bicyclists when making turns and remember to look for bicyclists going straight.
- Check for bicyclists along the edge of the traffic lane before opening car doors so you do not cause a collision when exiting your vehicle.
- Bicyclists also should utilize bike paths whenever possible and always watch for turning and parked motor vehicles.
- Bicyclists should be encouraged to clearly communicate their intentions to motorists by using proper turning signals.
- Wearing helmets, visible clothing and using bike paths when available are key factors to ensuring a safe, pleasurable biking adventure.
Online Traffic School
AAA offers Floridians the opportunity to take Driver Improvement courses online. The courses (approved by the Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles) are perfect for people who have received a ticket, first-time drivers and drivers 55 and older. Plus, AAA members receive a discount on some of the course fees. Course registrants can simply study the course materials online in their spare time and then answer the quiz questions.
4-Hour Basic Driver Improvement
If you recently received a ticket in Florida, the 4-Hour Basic Driver Improvement course is for you! By taking the class, you are eligible:
- to receive an 18% fine reduction (civil penalty only)
- to receive no points on your record for the current violation
- to maintain your safe driver status
- and more
If you want to become a safer driver by refreshing your knowledge, this course will serve that purpose—and could save you money on your Auto Insurance Premiums. Check with your insurance company for further details. In addition, if you are required by your company to take a basic driver improvement class, this online course may be the perfect solution.
AAA Members save $5.00!
For those who have never had a driver's license, the First-Time Driver course will satisfy the two-exam requirement to receive a temporary driving permit (restricted driver's license). The exams are the Drug Alcohol Traffic Awareness (D.A.T.A.), which costs $27 (an $8 savings for AAA members), and the Temporary Driving Permit Exam. After taking these exams, registrants are eligible to receive a new driver permit.
Drivers 55 years of age or older are eligible to complete a six-hour motor vehicle accident prevention course that will allow them to receive a mandatory reduction on their insurance rates. The cost for this course is $12.95, a savings of $2 for AAA members.
AAA Roadwise Review -
A Tool to Help Seniors Drive Safely Longer
AAA has developed a tool that will enable older drivers to identify and address physiological changes which could affect driving. AAA Roadwise Review: A Tool to Help Seniors Drive Safely Longer is a scientifically validated screening tool developed by AAA and transportation safety researchers at TransAnalytics. This home-based, user-friendly screening software is based on the DrivingHealth® Inventory battery of functional tests which were validated in a six-year cooperative research project between NHTSA and the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, with additional support from the National Institute on Aging. Drivers with a significant loss in the functional capabilities tested by Roadwise Review are 2 to 5 times more likely to cause a motor vehicle crash than drivers without losses in these key safe driving abilities.
The measures include:
- Leg Strength and General Mobility – enables you to accelerate and brake under regular conditions and to respond quickly in emergencies.
- Head/Neck Flexibility – allows you to check blind spots when you back up, change lanes, or merge into traffic.
- High Contrast Visual Acuity – helps you detect pavement markings, read road signs and spot hazards in or near the road.
- Low Visual Acuity – enables you to maintain lane position and drive safely in rain, dusk, haze and fog.
- Working Memory – helps you follow directions, remember traffic rules and regulations, and make good decisions as you drive.
- Visualization of Missing Information – enables you to recognize and anticipate a threat or hazard even when part of it is hidden from view.
- Visual Search – enables you to scan the driving environment and recognize traffic signs, signals, navigational landmarks and hazards.
- Visual Information Processing Speed – allows you to pay attention to what is in front of you while also detecting threats at the edge of your field of view.
Roadwise Review is designed to be used in the privacy of one’s own home. At the conclusion of each of the eight skill tests, a summary of results is displayed along with advice as to what the test taker should do. Many visual, medical, and physical rehabilitation options are available that can add substantially to the safe driving years of normally-aging individuals. Depending on the measure and the level of impairment, a user may be referred to a physician, Occupational Therapist, or a Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist. For instance, poor results on a vision test might suggest visiting an optometrist. If a user does not have a measurable loss in a safe driving ability, he or she will be asked to use their results as a baseline against which they can measure future changes in driving health.
The development of Roadwise Review included a series of focus groups across the United States and Canada. Users of Roadwise Review considered the program to be clear, simple, valuable and fun. AAA is confident that Roadwise Review has the potential to make a major impact on traffic safety as 90% of those asked said they would follow through with the recommendations offered by the program. Recommendations from healthcare providers can often allow seniors to drive safely longer. Just as seniors monitor their physical health through frequent checkups, Roadwise Review helps seniors monitor their driving health.
Upon completion of AAA Roadwise Review, you may be eligible to receive a discount on auto insurance through AAA Auto Club South. You could save up to 5% off of your auto premium and rest assured that you have Protection That’s Right For You. Request a free quote today.
Get Involved!
At AAA Auto Club South, we take seriously our public service mission to protect and advance the freedom of mobility and improve travel safety. In pursuit of this mission, we commit to being a bold advocate on your behalf at the federal, state and local level. But we need your help! While the collective size of our AAA club membership is influential, the REAL power lies in YOU, the individual member and voter.
Please help us better represent your interests by visiting our Legislative Action Center and register so that we might: 1) Keep you informed of major issues being considered by your elected officials, and 2) Request your assistance, only in matters of great importance, by asking that you contact your elected officials and express your views.