CPSC Press Release:
Bike Helmets on Playgrounds
Summary: The Consumer Proeuct Safety Commission's warning to not use helmets on playgrounds.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ken Giles
February 22, 1999
(301) 504-0580 Ext. 1184
Release # 99-065
After Recent Death, CPSC Warns Against
Wearing Bike Helmets on
Playgrounds
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After the strangulation death of a 3-year old
Pennsylvania boy, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
warns that children should not wear bike helmets when playing on
playground equipment. The boy died February 4 when his bicycle helmet
became wedged as he apparently tried to slide through a small opening on
the playground equipment near his home. CPSC is aware of a second
strangulation death that occurred in 1997 when a 7-year old girl in
Canada became entrapped in an opening on a playground structure. Both victims
were wearing a bicycle helmet during play and died due to hanging from the
helmet strap.
CPSC Chairman Ann Brown said, "Children should always wear a helmet
while riding their bikes. Helmet use can reduce the risk of head injury
by up to 85 percent* in the event of a crash. But when a child gets off the
bike, take off the helmet. There is a hidden hazard of strangulation if a child
wears a helmet while playing on playground equipment."
In addition to the deaths, CPSC also has reports of four cases in
the United States where no injury occurred. In two of these cases, the children
were climbing trees, and in the other two cases, the children were on
playground equipment.
At the time of this release, copies of CPSC's Bike Helmet Safety Alert could be obtained through
CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or
CPSC's website.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public
from
unreasonable risks of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer
products
under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a
product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's
teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's website at
https://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. For information on CPSC's
fax-on-demand service, call the above numbers or visit the website at
(http://cpsc.gov/about/who.html. To order a press release through
fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine
and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall
information at CPSC's website at http://www.cpsc.gov. To establish a link from your website to this press release on CPSC's website, create a
link to the following address: (obsolete link).
*BHSI note: more recent estimates are that helmets result in a 66 to 88% reduction in the risk of head, brain and severe brain injury for all ages of bicyclists.
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