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Use your head and wear a helmet during Bicycle Safety Month

Biking has a number of benefits — improving health and reducing pollution and wear and tear on our streets, to name a few — but it’s vital that public safety is not neglected.

A booth at a Portland Sunday Parkways event has bike helmets hanging with a sign that reads "$8 each".

Legacy Health volunteers at Sunday Parkways and other events also offer helmet fitting services.

The statistics don’t lie — wearing a helmet when you ride a bike saves lives and prevents injuries.

Since 1992, Legacy Health has provided over 135,000 low-cost helmets to the community as part of its Injury Prevention Education Program, offered through Trauma Nurses Talk Tough (TNTT) school outreach. Volunteers also help distribute the head safety equipment at events like Good in the Hood and Sunday Parkways.

The effort is just one component of a region-wide focus on protecting cyclists, exemplified by the official proclamation from Washington County’s Department of Land Use & Transportation, which declared May 2024 as Bicycle Safety Month. The initiative, sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will feature educational outreach, media releases, and social media messaging.

You can make every ride count by downloading the Love to Ride app, where each trip earns you points to enter a prize drawing. It’s also a platform to offer feedback on bike infrastructure decisions in your community.