We recently posted a survey asking people whether or not their children ride bicycles to school, if they wear their helmets, and a few other bike and helmet-related questions. We also offered a free Bell True Fit helmet to one lucky survey participant. Today we’re announcing the lucky winner … and sharing the survey results!

While many of the participants had similar responses, there were also some interesting variations too.

For example, the majority of survey participants said their children do not ride bicycles to school, with the number one reason for not riding their bikes to school being distance, as the majority of respondents live more than one mile from their child’s school. Another common reason that participants’ children do not ride their bikes to school is because of age. They think their child is too young. The mean age of all survey participants’ children was 6 years old. And for those of you in that pack with children on the younger side, respondents whose children do ride a bike to school said their child first began doing so around age 6 ½.

And when survey participants were asked, “Are there clearly marked bike paths on your child’s route to school?” the survey was about split, with 46% responding “yes”, and 54% responding “no”. We believe that this could also be a factor in deciding whether or not to allow a child to ride a bicycle to school.

Overwhelmingly, most respondents had never heard of a walking train or bicycle train. Of those respondents that were familiar with those terms, one respondent said, “… we do a walking ‘bus’ occasionally.” And for that majority out there that does not know, a walking school bus and a bicycle train both consist of groups of students accompanied by adults that walk or bicycle a pre-planned route to school (SafeRoutesInfo.org).

Other survey results that were pretty lop-sided include 78% of respondents saying “yes”, their child rides a bike 3 or more times a week, outside of riding to school. And, 23% said no, their child does not ride a bicycle that often.

Finally, participants gave a resounding “YES” to the question “Does your child wear a helmet when they ride a bike?”. That’s relieving.

Thanks to those that participated by taking a minute from their day to take the quick survey! And, drum roll please, the lucky winner of a shiny new Bell True Fit helmet is the survey is Silicon Valley-based Kimberly aka @tippytoes on twitter.

With the school season here, it made us over here at Bell wonder – how many of you allow your children to ride their bicycle to school? So, in order to figure this out, we’ve created a brief survey that we’re hoping you’ll participate in! The best part?? One lucky person who takes the survey will win a free Bell True Fit helmet!!

We promise the survey is short and painless, and it’s ready for you to take right now! So, if you’re interested, please take a minute to fill out the ten questions around bicycling to school.

We’ll be leaving the survey up for three weeks. After that time we’ll be choosing one person at random (who took the survey, of course), and we’ll be sending them a free Bell True Fit helmet of their choice!
Want that to be you? All you have to do is Click Here to take survey

One last thing – please leave your twitter handle in the comments section below after taking the quiz. Or you could send us a direct message to @BellTrueFit. We can’t give you a free helmet if we don’t know who you are!

On summer days, when kids are out of school for a long period of time, they want to be out in the sun, playing in the grass and having fun with their friends. So don’t keep them house-bound all day while you’re at work for fear they’re going to get hurt – give them the facts (and a helmet) and send them on their way! After all, knowledge leads to safer decision making!

1. Only a bicycle helmet is made specifically to protect the head from any fall that may occur while biking. Other helmets or hard hats are made to protect the head from other types of injury, not biking. (The Injury Prevention Program)

2. Along with Safe Kids, Bell Sports also supports organizations such as Bikes Belong, the International Mountain Biking Association, Protective Headgear Manufacturers Association, and Brain Injury Association of America. (Bell Sports)

3. Hand signals are an important part of the rules of the road and should be taught to all children before they begin to ride in the street. (The Injury Prevention Program)

4. In 2007, 18.5 million bicycles were sold in the US. (League of American Bicyclists)

5. Anatomical helmets adapted to the inner head structure were invented by neurosurgeons at the end of the 20th Century. (Wikipedia)

BTW – Did you know where else you can find news from the Bell True Fit community site online? Make sure you’re able to stay updated on all the Bell True Fit community site has to offer, no matter what channel you prefer to find us from!

Finally, as part of this week’s Fast Facts, we’ve included an informational video from WonderHowTo.com on how to properly make hand signals to let other people navigating around you (or your kids!) know what you are doing.

Happy Friday, and hope your summer’s going well!

There’s an anti-smoking commercial airing that has pulled at the heartstrings of many parents. Maybe you know the one? The ad that shows a toddler left by his parent at the top of an escalator in a busy train station. The commercial states that it only took the boy 60 seconds to react and appear distraught at the absence of his parent and encourages viewers to imagine if this boy lost his parents for good. There has been some controversy over the harshness of that ad, and whether or not you find it a bit over the top or not, the message certainly rings clear.

The emotions evoked in that ad are similar to those we have at Bell about a child that may be left behind because a parent failed to wear their helmet and incurred a devastating injury as a result, putting a child in the emotionally and physically difficult circumstances to try and take on an emergency situation and, even worse potentially leaving a parent unable to care for their own child long-term. In most cases, it’s a scenario that never need present itself through simple prevention.

And despite the many articles, like this one from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’s AHealthyMe site or like this one on Education.com, and studies pointing out the importance of parents wearing helmets to set the proper example, there are still many occasions where those of us of us here at Bell Sports see parents out with their kids riding bikes and the parents are not wearing a helmet. Knowing the research statistics on bike-related injuries and watching the intensive testing that we put our helmets through, it makes us shudder when we see parents without helmets. Does it mean you’re a bad parent? No. Does it mean you can do better? We can always be better, and this is one example of something very simple we can do to set up our kids to practice good safety habits and even act as a role model to other children.

According to the results of a study from researchers at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada that appears on the Children’s Hospital website, adult and peer helmet use when bike riding is positively associated with helmet use in kids. Data associated with this study showed that 95% of children wore a helmet when riding with an adult who wore a helmet compared to the only 41% of children that wore a helmet when riding with an adult who didn’t wear a helmet. And, if your child can set the example of wearing a helmet, further data from the study shows that 77% wore a helmet when riding with another child who wore a helmet. The study emphatically suggests that by wearing a helmet it’s a great way to encourage your child to wear one, too. And we agree.

It’s the end of the month, and many will be doing number crunching of some sort, so we thought we’d join in the fun and provide some interesting and important statistics. And, while we think bike riding should be an enjoyable and fun activity for all and don’t want to invoke fear, we do want to inspire a sense of precaution to encourage everyone to take a few very simple but effective preventative steps, like wearing a helmet, when traveling by wheel.

1. Each year, more than 500,000 children go to hospital emergency rooms or doctors’ offices due to bicycle injuries. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

2. More than half of these (above mentioned) collisions happen on neighborhood streets, sidewalks, or playgrounds. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

3. Nearly 690 children are injured daily due to bicycle-related crashes. (Safe Kids)

4. Approximately 12 bicycles can be parked in the space required for one automobile. (rideyourbike.com)

5. Bell Sports spent 5 years of R&D before introducing the True Fit helmet this April. Even still, the True Fit (and all helmets) needs to be worn correctly, in order to reduce the risk of serious injury when in a crash. (Bell Sports)

Now that you know some of the facts, stay tuned for next week’s guest post from Safe Kids CEO, Mitch Stoller, who has some smart tips to share about bike safety. And as always, we ask that if you have ‘em, please chime in with some related facts of your own!

It’s that day again – Friday! And that means it’s time to share some helmet-related facts, because you never know when one may turn up as a Data Head question in your next game of Cranium!

1. The first two-wheel bicycle was called a Dandy Horse, and it was patented in 1818. (Wikipedia)

2. Bell Sports introduced its first children’s helmet in 1984, with the Li’l Bell Shell. (Absolute Astronomy)

3. The majority of bicycle-related injuries occur in the summer. (KidBibs)

4. Helmets are worn for at least 15 different types of sports. (Wikipedia)

5. The average person loses 13 pounds their first year of commuting by bike. (JonathanFit’s Blog)

Feel free to add onto this list with some helmet-related facts of your own. We’d love to know what’s pedaling through that brain of yours

Have you ever been backstage at a rock concert? Taken a tour inside Buckingham Palace? Been to a movie set? We will count you as the lucky ones if you’ve done one or all…

While we can’t get you on the set of the new Harry Potter movie, we can offer you a sneak peek at the coolness inside the new line of Bell Sports bike helmets with the True Fit technology. When you stop to think about it, it’s not just a helmet, it’s a brand-new technology… and it *is* pretty cool.

Creating this technology was very important to us; especially when you remember one in three kids wear false fitting helmets. Readers of our blog already know the premise of the Bell Sports True Fit helmet line: A True Fit helmet gives the right fit, right away, every time. So, how is that possible for kids and adults? We are here to unveil some of the inner-workings of this cool technology and take you “backstage”… so to speak.

Back in 2004, the makers of True Fit identified that key challenge – a false fit – for cyclists of all ages, especially kids. Our company set out to ensure that kids can wear helmets with the highest level of protection available, while making it as simple as possible. Our awesome and super-smart Bell designers spent five whopping years developing an innovative helmet design that help keep you safe.

The design is based on a ground-breaking, self-adjusting fit belt to give just the right fit, with fixed straps that offer the correct position every time, and a single adjustment point near the base of the chin. Elastic forms to the Occipital Lobe (Um, what? See picture!!) to create a consistent and level fit, with cool high impact reflectors, and primary retention and fit systems combined for simplicity that are positioned strategically at the base of the straps at the back of the helmet.

Sounds simple right?? Well, now it is! True Fit offers a truly revolutionary design in that no other helmet on the market offers. True Fit takes the guesswork out of whether the helmet is positioned properly.

Well, there you have it. All access backstage passes at Bell True Fit headquarters. We hope to hear how your experience has been. Tell us your story here or in the comments. Happy (and safe) riding.

Last week we offered the chance for one of our community site visitors to win a new True Fit helmet. We’ll assume you all meant to comment and enter to win, and simply lost track of your busy week because you were very busy saving the Earth. Or, perhaps you did comment but weren’t chosen this time around. What’s that saying? If at first you don’t succeed – try, try again. But unlike that famous W.C. Fields quote, nobody at Bell Sports wants you to quit trying.

Here’s your second chance! This week The Full Mommy, a site that provides “naked, honest reviews for everybody”, takes the helmet for a test spin of her own and offers her readers a review of the new True Fit helmet, and… the chance to nab your own helmet!

Visit The Full Mommy review and giveaway of a Bell True Fit helmet for your chance to win! (Enter by 11 PM CST on Friday, May 1, 2009)

We hosted our first of several giveaways for one lucky reader to receive a free Bell True Fit helmet so that they could give the new design a test run of their own.

The lucky winner is Aqua Baron, who participated in the giveaway by commenting as American Mom in Paris. This world-traveling mom to two toddlers will return home to Ladera Ranch in Orange County, California to find a new helmet waiting for her!

Congratulations Aqua, and we look forward to hearing back on your own experience with the helmet. Happy belated Earth Day!