Western junior Amber Stevens said she took the bus to school last year but has started to ride her new bike this quarter. She said she wears a helmet because she feels like it keeps her safe and sends a good message to her daughter.

“I try to teach my daughter by example,” she said. “We always wear our helmets any time we’re on our bikes.”
Surveys conducted by Western's Sustainable Transportation Program last week indicate more students are using bicycles to get to campus this fall than in previous years and Western authorities agree it is a vital time for students to understand why wearing a helmet is a no-brainer.

“There’s no question, I’ve seen some people get badly injured without a helmet,” said Dr. Emily Gibson, director of the Student Health Center.

The health center treats approximately two injured bicyclists per week, Gibson said.

Bikers usually come into the health center for minor injuries such as road rash or cuts, but occasionally a biker will come in with a head injury.

Injuries often occur when a biker speeds too fast down a hill and hits a rut or gets off balance, she said.

“You hit the ground at 10-15 miles per hour, and the ground’s hard,” Gibson said.

University Police (UP) Sgt. David Garcia said another main cause of injury is when bicyclists collide with motor vehicles.

While there is no helmet law applicable to Whatcom County, Garcia said UP highly advocates the use of helmets.

“It has been proven to show it improves your safety or your ability to recover after a spill,” Garcia said.

In fact, a study conducted by the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center found helmets reduce the risk of serious head injury by 85 percent and brain injury by 88 percent, according to the center’s Web site.

Students have varying opinions about the necessity of helmets.

Western junior Andrew Nickerson said he rides his bike every day and generally feels safe, even though he doesn’t usually wear a helmet.

“If I think I’m going a long way, I’ll put it on,” Nickerson said.

Western freshman Abie Ringman said he noticed many students don’t wear helmets.

Although he had worn one for his first week or so at school, he now feels like it’s unnecessary unless he’s going off campus.

“I’m thinking that I don’t really need to wear it around campus,” Ringman said. “I figure that I’m not really going to be falling down, and if I did I wouldn’t be going too fast that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.”

Stevens said she has also noticed more bikers are on campus this quarter.

“Gas is expensive, and biking is good exercise. It’s convenient,” Stevens said.

Western’s Sustainable Transportation Program staff began its annual bike rack utilization counts last week by counting the number of bikes on racks within the academic core of campus.

While the exact comparisons are not available yet, Wendy Crandall, Sustainable Transportation Program assistant, said 88 percent of bike parking spots on campus were full.

Crandall said the counts were the highest they have seen in several years of conducting the survey.

Gayle Shipley, director of Environmental Health and Safety, said it is fabulous more people are using sustainable transportation and wants to spread the word on how important helmets are.

“It’s an important issue to wear a helmet because it protects your brain, and you need it,” Shipley said.

Shipley said she has talked to students who have dropped out, lost jobs or missed quarters due to head injuries.

“Clearly there have been enough accidents over the years that it is an issue for students and for everyone who bikes,” Shipley said. “The number of deaths is only looking at the most severe cases. It is not looking at the students who have had to drop out.”

She said helmet safety is an issue for the entire Bellingham community, as well.

“People really need to consider it,” Shipley said. “It isn’t always something that happens to someone else.”

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