Iowa Civil Justice Foundation and Iowa Bicycle Coalition Announce Joint Safe Cycling Project

Tue, Jun 22, 2010 | by TJ Juskiewicz

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The Iowa Civil Justice Foundation and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition announced a joint Safe Cycling project promoting bicycle helmet use for Iowa kids. The groups will collaborate to outfit children with new bike helmets at community events across the state.  This bicycle helmet project is a continuing commitment for the Iowa groups, who are currently accepting event requests.

If you are interested in organizing a bike rodeo or bike ride in your community, the Safe Cycling project may provide free bike helmets for the event.  For more information please contact the Iowa Bicycle Coalition at 515-309-2867 or at mark@iowabicyclecoalition.org

The Iowa Civil Justice Foundation is the education and community service arm of the Iowa Association for Justice – an organization of nearly one thousand Iowa attorneys who fight for justice in courtrooms and communities across the state.  The Association serves the legal profession and the public through its efforts to strengthen our justice systems, promote injury prevention, and foster the transparency of information critical to the health and safety of all Iowans.

“Bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except the automobile,” said Brad Lint, executive director of the Iowa Civil Justice Foundation. “Our members are often called into service after a child has been terribly injured, or worse, while riding his or her bicycle, and those cases are truly tragic. That’s why attorneys across the state are working so hard to outfit kids with the helmets that can save their lives and prevent terrible injury.”

 The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is a state-wide bicycle advocacy organization with 1,150 members and over 5,000 partners through affiliated organizations. The Coalition works to build partnerships, educate Iowans, and help to establish safe and enjoyable bicycle transportation and recreation networks throughout Iowa.

“Bike helmets save lives,” said Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. “We encourage cyclists of all ages to wear a well-fitted helmet every time they ride, and the Safe Cycling project helps instill that practice at a young age.”

The single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet.  Bicycle helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent. It is estimated that 75 percent of bicycle-related fatalities among children could be prevented with a bicycle helmet.

For the past several years, The Iowa Civil Justice Foundation has provided free helmets to RAGBRAI overnight community children that have participated in bike rodeos and other bike safety events leading up to their community’s hosting of RAGBRAI.

• Iowa Bicycle Coalition, Iowa Civil Justice Foundation, Ride Right