Local Video
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| Emergency officials will reward bicycle safety |
By: By SUZANNE ROOK
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Posted: Friday, April 25, 2008 10:45 pm
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NORTHFIELD — James Ingham has proof that helmets save lives: his 13-year-old daughter, Taylor.
Two years ago, Ingham and his daughter were riding a motorcycle southeast of Faribault when the bike hydroplaned, sending them hurtling into the air and severely injuring the two.
But one look at Taylor’s headgear, with a two-inch gash on its side, told Ingham all he needed to know.
“If she hadn’t been wearing a helmet, that would have been her head, he said, noting the gash. “It was the helmet that allowed me to keep my daughter.”
Bicycle and skateboarding helmets are just as important, the Northfield EMT said. That’s why he’s leading a summer-long campaign to encourage bicycle and skateboard safety for local youth.
Beginning May 1, Northfield Hospital Emergency Medical Services workers and Northfield police officers will recognize and reward youngsters who operate their bicycles and ride their skateboards safely. Several area businesses have donated coupons for free ice cream or cookies to be used as the rewards.
“We want to reinforce good safety habits,” said Brian Edwards, with the Northfield EMS. “Then we want to encourage those who do not use helmets to think seriously about changing their habits.”
Those found riding without helmets will be given coupons giving them a discount on a new helmet.
According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, 770 bicyclists were killed on U.S. roads in 2006, 14 fewer than the year before. About 540,000 injured bicyclists visit emergency rooms every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries with 27,000 of those injuries requiring hospitalization.
Anywhere from 45 to 88 percent of cyclists’ injuries can be prevented by wearing a helmet, the institute reports.
Ingham said officers and EMTs aren’t only looking for helmet-wearers, but young riders who are stopping at stop signs and walking their bicycles safely across the street, as well as keeping an eye out for skateboarders who are skating safely.
While the campaign could impact Northfield EMS’s workload, the push for safety isn’t at all selfish. Ingham said he can still recall a young, helmetless patient who crossed the street without looking and was struck by an oncoming car.
The boy was rushed to a Twin Cities hospital with traumatic brain injuries, said Ingham.
The difference between his daughter and that young man was simple: a helmet.
— Suzanne Rook can be reached at srook@northfieldnews.com or 645-1113.
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