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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08031993 - 1.26 1 . 26 p T^ BOARV, DE SUPERVISORS �f'y�♦ FROM: Mark Finucane Contra ra Costa DATE: August /'3, 11993 COurty SUBJECT: AB 2268 SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S ) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDED ACTION: 1. Endorse AB 2268 by Assemblymember Louis Caldera which will require all persons under the age of 18 who is operating, or riding upon a bicycle as a passenger, wear an approved bicycle helmet at all times. 2. Direct the Health Services Department's Prevention Program to monitor the progress of the bill. 3. Direct the County lobbyist and Health Services Department to support the passage of AB 2268. BACKGROUND TO RECOMMENDATIONS: The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and Contra Costa Health Services Department have been leaders in promoting bicycle safety issues throughout the county and the state. Last year, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors supported SB 1878, which would have allowed cities and counties to enact bicycle helmet ordinances. AB 2268 has an even greater potential to improve the health of Contra Costa children. Children are at particular risk of bicycle injuries. Approximately half of all people who die in bicycling crashes in the United States are children 16 years and younger. In Contra Costa County, motor vehicles were found to be the leading cause of injury death for children 0 to 14 years old between 1988 to 1990; in 45 percent of motor vehicle-related deaths of children under age 14, the injured child was a bicyclist or pedestrian. More children aged 0 to 14 were hospitalized for injuries resulting from motor and non-motor vehicle than any other cause from 1986-1988 in Contra Costa County. For children 0 to 14 injured in motor vehicle collisions which required hospitalization, 52 percent were injured as pedestrians or bicyclists. Bicycle- related injuries to children under 15 are more costly than other types of vehicular injuries. AB 2268 provisions have the potential to reduce the incidence of disabling injuries and deaths resulting from bicycle injuries among the County's children. A bill requiring bicycle helmet use has significant injury prevention potential. Studies have shown that bicycle helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent and b ain injury by 88 percent. Approximately 82,152 people were injured and 678 p ople were Vyed in bicycle CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: _X YES SIGNATURE; luv�l RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF B ARD COMMITTEE APPROVE _._. OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON __ o ust 3, 1993APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER X ADOPTED a position in support of SEE 2268 if amended to remove the age reference and replace it with a provision to require all persons ridinq a bicycle to wear an approved bicycle helmet. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE XX UNANIMOUS (ABSENT - - - AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: _ NOES:__ AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN:_ OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CONTACT: Jack Champlin 646-6511 August 3, 1993 ATTESTED Cc: CAO Health Services Director PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Public Health Division SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Prevention Program BY DEPUTY M382%7-83 —J related collisions in California between 1984 to 1989. Dr. Jeffery Sacks of the Division of Injury Control within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided estimates indicating that between 19,210 to 22,324 bicycle-related head injuries and 302 to 351 bicycle- related deaths could have been prevented in California during the 1984 to 1989 period if every bicyclist had been required to wear a helmet. The Contra Costa County Health Services Department's Prevention Program has implemented bicycle and pedestrian injury prevention programs over the past three years. The Safe Roads/Safe Families (SR/SF) project has conducted school-based educational campaigns and helmet give-aways to increase helmet use. Although the SR/SF project has successfully increased bicycle helmet use in target regions of the County, AB 2268 will enable the project to combine education and policy approaches. The Contra Costa County Health Services Department has a preference for bicycle helmet legislation that covers bicyclists of all ages, but strongly supports AB 2268 in the absence of such a bill. However, we should oppose any amendments that significantly weaken the current legislation, particularly in regard to age requirements. If they are included in the final bill, we should oppose its passage. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There will be no financial expenditures imposed on Contra Costa County as a result of AB 2268. However, the social and economic costs of injured bicyclists are great. Survivors of head injuries have only a 33 percent chance of returning to a normal life without any permanent disabilities. The economic costs to provide lifetime care for a severely head injured bicyclist averages $4.5 million. Bicycle injuries to children 0 to 19 average close to $5,000 per case. Acute medical care for a seriously head-injured bicyclist over 60-90 days averages $150,000. Acute and extended rehabilitation can average more than $250,000. The effective preventive measure of bicycle helmets warrants the public's support due to the potential benefit in reducing the social and economic costs incurred by individuals, their families, and the public at large.