Dental Floss and Bike Helmets = The Doak TC Weekly Safety Reminder

It's the Doak TC Weekly Safety Reminder #9.

They say (whoever they are) that you only need to floss around the teeth that you want to keep. So, when kids ask me "when don't I have to wear my bike helmet?," I tell 'em "whenever you know for certain that you're not going to fall." Of course they roll their eyes at me and remind me that they can never know that. "Well, I guess that's answers your question, then" I reply.

Most people think that their greatest danger on a bike comes from being hit by a car, but the majority of bike injuries come from the rider simply falling down due to something unexpected or an error. The head that's on top of that falling body is going to hit the ground from a pretty good height. The skull hits the ground and then the brain hits the skull: kind'a like smacking it into a mixing bowl. Obviously that's why we wear a bike helmet. Any reasonable parent wants their little kid to have that helmet on. After all, kids can get hurt.

Yup, I saw one of those reasonable parents when I was driving on Front Street in Traverse City last week. He was riding his bike and had his really small child riding along on the same bike, nestled in front of him, between his legs on some sort of seat thing. Of course, this reasonable parent had a helmet on the kid just in case they fall and the kid's head hits the street from a height of about five feet. So, he's assuming there could be a falling hazard. This reasonable parent did not seem concerned about his own unhelmeted brain which will drop from about eight feet and smack the pavement in that same fall. After all- he's an adult and not as important as the child. He's also demonstrating to the child that someday he too will grow up to be less important and have no need for silly childhood protections.

Parents, if you're asking the question "when don't I have to wear my bike helmet?," here is the answer: when you're certain that you will not leave your family grieving for you due to a fall, and when there is no chance that your kids will see you do it. When those kids get to be near driving age and are still watching your every move ask me the question "when don't I have to fully stop my car at a stop sign."

I gotta go floss now.

Be safe.