How one piece of equipment can save your life

It’s warming up outside which makes people more inclined to pull out their active gear and be outdoors.  Swimming, hiking and a Salisbury favorite – bike riding, are all popular summertime activities.  Salisbury has a ton of bike routes to support our many bicyclist, which is why bike safety is hot topic around this time of year.

Delmarva has had multiple bicycle accidents within the last few months. Out of these, 2 one of them were fatal and at least one wasn’t wearing a helmet. 47 ABC spoke to ER Dr. Brian Delligatti at PRMC and he tells us that there’s a significant difference in bicyclist’s wearing a helmet during an accident then those that don’t.

” An unprotected bike rider could end up with a skull fracture or bleeding inside of their brain as a result of a head injury, as opposed to some minor headaches or little no effects for someone who is wearing a helmet.” said Delligatti.

Bike rider and employee of Salisbury Cycle, Rory Payne says he’s fallen off his bike a ton of times and he’s sure the only reason he’s still alive, is because he had on his head gear.

“It’s very common for people to not wear helmets especially being in a college town where a lot of people are just doing quick short hops around town. But the distance, your age, or how long you’ve been riding is irrelevant when it comes to a motorist that just simply doesn’t see you.” said Payne. “All is takes is one quick mistake and that’s it.”

Payne believes that in the majority of these fatal accidents, a helmet could have saved lives. He also goes on to say that while helmets and reflective gear make bicyclist safer, riding a bike is actually riskier then driving a car.

The overall message is to be safe and make sure to follow the rules of the road while on a bike or driving a car. Just as you would take a second to buckle your seat belt, the ER doctors at PRMC would hope you’d take that same second to buckle your head gear when riding a bike.

For tips on bicycle safety click here.