Bicycle Helmet Program

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost 100 children under the age of 15 were killed in a bike-related accident in 2006. This makes bike accidents one of the most frequent causes of injury-related death in young children.

It’s estimated that regular bicycle helmet use by children ages 4 to 15 would prevent 39,000 to 45,000 head injuries, and 18,000 to 55,000 scalp and face injuries annually. Bicycle helmets are 85-88% effective in protecting bicyclists from head and brain injuries in serious accidents.

The best way to protect children from head injuries is to make sure they wear a helmet every time they ride a bike.

Free Bike Helmets for Elementary School Students

UVA Health System's Safety and Wellness program has partnered with schools in central Virginia to provide free bike helmets for third grade students. Through this year's program, over 300 students in Greene County and Nelson County schools received free bike helmets, approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In previous years, we've also given helmets to students in Albemarle County and Charlottesville city schools.

The safety program also satisfies one of Virginia's physical education Standard of Learning (SOL) requirements.

Visiting the Schools

To kick off the program, members of the UVA Health System Community Relations Safety and Wellness program visited third-grade classes to measure each child for a new helmet.

We delivered the new helmets and taught the children about bike safety. We also discussed why wearing a helmet is important, how to wear the helmet properly and other sports safety tips. Each student also received take-home information for their parents about the importance of always wearing a helmet.