Support for bike helmet law in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE - The Grant County Board of Health, Safe Kids Grant County, and the Grant County Health District support Moses Lake's ordinance requiring children 16 and younger to wear bicycle helmets.

More frequently than we should, we read about children being injured or killed while not wearing a required seatbelt, car seat, or life jacket. Wearing a bicycle helmet belongs in that same category. This ordinance takes us in the direction where we save lives, prevent injuries and, one day, do not think twice about wearing a helmet when riding a bicycle.

We would like to acknowledge those opposing this law and address some of the arguments. Firstly, bicycle helmet use makes a difference. There is about 26-85 percent reduction in head injury rates when wearing a helmet compared to not wearing one, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Safe Kids USA; Land Transport Safety Authority, Wellington, New Zealand; Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation and The National Center for Children's Health and Safety, Israel. Approximately 70 percent of fatal bicycle crashes involve head injuries - because of it, the head protection is likely to work, according to Harborview Medical Center; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Safe Kids USA. Secondly, we cannot agree that the issue of personal choice and personal responsibility about helmet use is more important than public good of wearing them. In Washington, the cost of treatment for a non-fatal bicycle injury in a child 14 and under is about $218,000, according to Harborview Medical Center. The lifelong cost of a brain injury is well over that. Couple this with the fact that approximately 78 percent of Moses Lake children ages 0-17 are on some form of tax-subsidized health insurance. It is easy to appreciate that we all pay the price when bicycle head injuries happen, just like before seatbelt laws were enacted.

While wearing bicycle helmets is not the only way of reducing injuries, requiring their use is a right step in the right direction. We agree that education should be the approach, not just a regulation. From 2006-2012, the Grant County Health District, Safe Kids Grant County, and the Central Basin Traffic Safety Task Force distributed over 1,500 helmets in Moses Lake, not to mention the involvement of volunteers and local service clubs. If this law goes into effect, we remain committed to distributing helmets. However, just like with the seatbelts in the past, it took a law not education to change our risky behaviors. The results have been tremendous. We ask the Moses Lake City Council put children's safety first by passing this ordinance.