A Thursday bicycle accident involving a minivan resulted in serious injuries, news outlets have reported. Only one person was injured.
According to the news outlets covering the accident, the cyclist was riding his electric bike west on 6th Street when he ignored a red light, colliding with a minivan traveling north on Park Avenue. As officials responded to the downtown Bremerton accident, they learned that the 56-year-old rider was not wearing a helmet and had sustained serious injuries as a result of the collision. The driver of the minivan was not hurt.
The rider was airlifted to the hospital for treatment.
Safety advocates have long argued that bicycle helmets can save lives.
Washington state currently has no state-mandated rules regarding helmet use. However, several cities and counties do.
Safety Gear Can Save A Life In A Bicycle Accident
In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported, 857 cyclists were killed in bicycle accidents across the country. While riders might not be able to avoid bicycle accidents altogether, they can take important safety measures to ensure they are protected from injuries in the event of a crash. Wearing safety gear such as helmets is one of them.
According to official data, almost three-quarters of all fatal bicycle accidents in the US in recent years involved a head injury. In 97% of all deadly bike accident cases, cyclists were not wearing their helmets.
Safety advocates claim that this number is high, precisely because helmets can prevent serious head trauma.
If you or your children ride bicycles and you have not yet invested in bicycle safety gears such as helmets, keep the numbers in mind. After all, helmet use can save your life and the life of your child.
As officials investigate the Bremerton collision, we hope that Washington riders learn from this experience.
For more on this accident and what officials reported regarding their findings, follow this link.
