Smart Safety: Helmets for Cars?

There are some people that think that kids should wear helmets for more than biking and other action sports - that they should be mandatory in cars too. I'd never heard of this before, but I had the chance to interview lawyer Howard Spiva to learn about it.

• How great a risk are head injuries in car accidents?

According to the Center for disease control the number one cause of traumatic brain injuries in children under age 5 is in car wreck and mostly in car safety seats.  Studies by the Center for disease control and by the pediatric Association  both show that when helmets were mandated for bicycles that  Traumatic brain injuries when down by 75% and fatalities went down by 85%

Consider that 85% of deaths eliminated! 

I am a trial lawyer who has specialized in serious injuries for over 30 years. I have personally seen the tragedy of lives that are forever altered, families destroyed. 100s maybe 1000s of times. 

Enough is enough. I believe we can make a difference.

• Why is it particularly an issue for younger kids?

Head injuries are often caused by the back of the parent’s seat collapsing, and the head rest or even the parent's head striking the child’s forehead….Another common injury on a side impact is the child’s head hitting the frame of the car or the window. I’m firm believer that children’s injuries are no accident.  If a child has to go to an emergency room somebody somewhere didn’t do what they were supposed to do.

• How can parents help kids avoid brain injuries in car accidents?

Like in a bicycle wrecks… studies show that a helmet can go a long ways in preventing a serious injury or even   fatalities.  When you consider that almost every dangerous activity the child participates in they wear a helmet: 

Ø skateboards
Ø Bicycles
Ø baseball
Ø football
Ø Karate
Ø motorcycles
Ø Even bull riders wear helmets!

Race car drivers wear helmets, It only makes sense that children would be safer wearing a helmet in a car.
 

Both as an attorney (since 1984) and through our Charity founded in 1999, I am on a quest to eliminate Traumatic brain injuries in children.  Our mission is to educate parents and to motivate children to wear helmets while in car seats. We give them away, FREE by the 1000s.

ABOUT HOWARD SPIVA 
 For 33 years, Howard E. Spiva has been known as the “kids lawyer” with a mission to prevent traumatic brain injuries in children. Mr. Spiva is author of “Winning Your Case” which helps people select a competent, honest attorney. Howard was the radio host of “Never Settle For Less” and has been interviewed on countless TV/Radio shows. Attorney Howard Spiva served as past president of the Southern Trial Lawyers Association. Spiva Law Group has a long history of winning personal injury verdicts and negotiating settlement claims involving children, brain injuries, premises liability, truck wrecks, and wrongful death.

Visit: http://spivalaw.com and   https://www.facebook.com/HeadsInHelmets