Bicycle Helmet Videos
Summary: Here are the best helmet videos we know of, with sources. We can send some of them to you free, including the latest ones from DOT. We recommend a web search to update this list. We have a separate page on videos and PSAs found only on the web.
The videos below are free and we can send them to you on five DVDs with good resolution. All are limited to non-profit use.
The only helmet safety video we have ever seen that is fun to watch. It was done by three Manitoba organizations, and features fast cuttings, quirky humor and good information in three minutes. It seems suitable for a wide range of age groups. Short, so it is best used to get a discussion going on specifics of helmet and bike safety. You can access it on the Province of Manitoba site or we can send you a copy with our other DVDs (see below). We also have a Study Guide to help get a classroom discussion going. This one is specifically limited to non-profit use by schools and community groups. Note: If the video stops in Windows Media Player at the opening menu screen, just hit Enter to play it.
These five older DOT videos made in 2002 are also available free on disk from us:
- Ride Smart - It's Time to Start
One of the best free videos anybody has produced for "tweens" from about 8 to 12. Preaching, but all done by kids. Damaged helmets, jello and egg smashes, good fitting instructions and brief rules of the road. Eight minutes if you ignore the end credits. Online as a WMV file. - Bike Safe - Bike Smart
This one covers bicycle safety. Hosted by Celine Yeager. Covers bike types, helmet and fit, lights, bright clothing, bike check, regulations, extensive rules of the road and riding techniques including night riding tips. Reviews rules at the end. All kids, diverse cast. Online as a WMV file. Seven minutes. - Bicycle Safety Tips for Adults
Covers choosing the right bike, safety equipment, pre-ride safety checks and rules of the road. Eight minutes. Online as a WMV file. - Fitting a Bike Helmet.
Has a crash scene, brief bad advice on old standards, and good step by step instructions on fit. Four minutes.
Online as a WMV file.
Spanish language video, available on line. Replaced by the Spanish videos on Bicycle Safer Journey disk described above.
You can preview the Youtube-quality versions of the DOT videos. If that resolution is adequate for your use, you can just download them.
- Jello in a Jar
For tweens. The actors are all young teens, and seem fairly natural. There is of course a drop-jello-brain sequence, and an interview with a head-injured boy, who can't ride yet and has to leave because his father has come to pick him up, while the others ride away on their bikes. Here is a YouTube version in low resolution. The CD we send with the videos above has higher res and no ads. - Professor Helmut on Helmets
A "professor" in a white lab coat covers helmet testing, why you need one and fitting. He does a fun melon drop on a concrete floor. Six minutes. We include it with our other DVDs by permission from the now-defunct Protective Headgear Manufacturers Association, whose former members are listed in the credits.
All of the videos above are available free from us here at BHSI. We can send you a package of five DVDs that include Can-Bike Helmets 101, Jello in a Jar, Professor Helmut on Helmets, the 2014 DOT video disk and the 2012 DOT video disk. If you need them please send us an email with a postal mailing address. There is no charge for them--we do the duplicating here at BHSI and our donors cover the modest costs. If you need pamphlet duplicating masters and other materials on paper, the disks are included in the paper and disk version of our Toolkit for Helmet Promotion Programs, also free.
The videos are DVD-quality and the files are too massive for us to put online.
Available from other sources, not free
I Will Wear It and LiveWe have not seen it, but designed for the tweens group (8 to 12 years). Footage of the actual rehabilitation of an 11-year-old girl struck by a car while riding her bicycle without a helmet. A series of individual children and tweens make a personal pledge to wear their helmets every time they ride their bikes. 5 minutes. Comes with a leader's discussion guide. $20 including shipping from Linda Schillinger or call 616-242-0360 or send a check payable to "Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital" to Linda Schillinger, Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, 235 Wealthy SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
How to Fit a Helmet
A very well done helmet fitting video. Suitable for training a parent to fit a child's helmet or for training helmet fitters for a program. Seven well-edited minutes covering all the essentials of helmet fit. An adult demonstrates fitting a number of children. Trainers should probably see it twice. From:
-
Pierce County Safe Kids Coalition
Jenny Sharp, Coordinator
West Pierce Fire & Rescue
3631 Drexler Drive W
University Place, WA 98467
Direct (253) 983-4574
Cell (253) 226-9356
jenny.sharp@westpierce.org
Cost is $15, with checks made payable to "Pierce County Safe Kids Coalition."
The Perfect Fit
Another excellent video on fitting helmets. Features Susan DeMattei and other racers instructing a group of kids on how to fit their helmets, interspersed with a few mountain biking scenes. Text whizzes by too fast, but the advice is sound. Six minutes. Teletech Video, 33816 Robles Dr, Unit B, Dana Point, CA 92629, tel 949-388-7780 email: lyadao@cox.net or on the Web: www.teletechvideo.com (The Web site requires Macromedia Flash to view, so we have not seen it.) $10 includes shipping.
Get moving. Stay safe. Wear a helmet The description from the Texas Medical Association says: "Proper helmet fit, the key to safe cycling, is stressed in this five-minute DVD. Texas Medical Association physician Thomas Coopwood, MD, demonstrates the correct way to wear a bike helmet. As a surgeon, Dr. Coopwood has seen first hand what can happen when people don't use a helmet. He also discusses the importance of wearing a helmet when participating in any sport on wheels, such as riding a scooter or in-line skating." We found the fitting instructions indicated that placing the helmet correctly was sufficient to be sure it would be in place. The video shows strap adjustment, and the dialog mentions how important it is, but two adults reposition helmets on kids and say they are ok. Production values are good, and this one is well aimed at Texas parents. $11.80 with shipping.
Geared Up!: The Essentials of Adult Bicycling
Covers: accountability, avoiding crashes, bike fit, equipment, including helmets, helmet fit, riding in traffic, trail riding, night riding and more. Can display optional Spanish subtitles. A well-done 20 minute video produced in 2008. Riders are all fit enthusiasts, mostly in lycra. From the A'Hearn Group, at www.adultbicycling.com for $25 including shipping.
Bike Safety with Bill Nye the Science Guy
Hosted by The Science Guy, who pounds in the message. A Disney video with very high production values, abrupt transitions accompanied by great sound effects. Simulated crashes using miniature figures should keep the kids' attention. Covers each safety rule briefly, but repeats the helmet message throughout. Has kids, cops, racers, a messenger and a melon drop. They call it 22 minutes, but our copy ran in 16. Accompanied by a Teacher's Guide. Closed-captioned. Available from Disney Educational Productions, 105 Terry Drive, STE 120, Newtown, PA 18940-1425 or call 800-295-5010. $30 + shipping and any applicable state sales tax. (2012 price)
There's No One Like You!
A reasonable video for middle school kids from Headstrong of Denver. Features teens riding and doing stunts, then a coach with an inspirational message that misses the mark. A Denver newscaster goes over a brain model and shows how brain injuries occur, then how a helmet works. Next comes a boy who suffered a brain injury, and clearly is still slightly impaired, and others who crashed with a helmet. Nine minutes. From the Denver Osteopathic Foundation - 303-996-1140. $30.
A Kid's Eye View
A fine video for parents to help them understand the mistakes kids make on the street, and the safety rules to teach them. Comes with a pamphlet for follow up. Has most of the elements of the How Kids See Traffic pamphlet, also done by the City of Madison, Wisconsin, as well as some of our own pamphlet on Teaching your Child to Ride a Bicycle. We don't know if Madison is still distributing the video or not.
Before the Fall
For adults. Why your child should wear a helmet. Well done, heavy, with a parade of experts scaring you interspersed with shots of cyclists riding. Don Reed, Cherry Capital Cycling Club, 4765 Ludlow Rd. SW, So. Boardman, MI 49680, tel 616-369-2294 (home). Also available from the
Snell Foundation for $7.
Chinese Helmet Spot
Produced in China by David James Scott. A 30 second spot where two corporate types are debating which candidate to hire, until they see them cycle away and one puts on a helmet. The producer says "It's
predicated on the belief that young people will not wear a helmet
because of fear, but they might if they think it makes them look
smart, or gives them a leg up on a job possibility."
Putting Safety on Top
A video to convince Oregon police officers to enforce the state's helmet law. Head-injured kid, interviews with the Governor, his wife and police officials. 13 minutes, Oregon-specific. Available from the Oregon Health Division, or from the Bicycle Helmet Program, Oregon Department of Human Resources, 800 N. Oregon St, #825, Portland, OR 97232, phone (503) 731-4399. Also available to borrow from the Transportation Safety Section, 555 13th St. NE, Salem, OR 97310 Phone 503-986-4190.
Video Clips on Helmet Testing
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has done a video clip of their lab testing. We have info on the video clip. There is also a YouTube video put up by Limar showing their lab testing on both the European style "basket rig" and a US-style monorail. And the Snell Memorial Foundation has produced Snell: Kidz Vidz (5 min). It explains Snell's testing to kids up to age 10. We don't know what donation they suggest for the video.
General Bicycle Safety Videos
We recommend that you check the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's page on bicycle videos. They have reviews for five categories of bike and ped safety videos, but nothing on helmet videos. You will have to google for sources, since they don't list them.
The League of American Bicyclists has a series of short videos on various topics. We were not impressed with the helmet fitting video.
Here is our page of videos and PSA's you can download from the Web.
If you want ideas for full-length bike films, here is the MassBike page with many many movies.
This page was revised or reformatted on: February 22, 2019.
