It is the last week for Primary Schools across Britain to be involved in an initiative designed to teach children the importance of bicycle safety and reduce the number of cycling related injuries.
The Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust, a national charity providing educational cycling safety programmes , has joined forces with WD-40 Multi-Use Product to launch a competition for children to design their very own Lazer bicycle helmet.
The helmet will be manufactured and donated to the charity to support disadvantaged youngsters across the UK be safer on their bikes.
The project was launched after figures revealed a child cyclist is three times more likely to be killed in an accident on Britain’s roads than an adult cyclist, according to research.*
It is hoped the joint initiative will help in the effort to reduce the number of youngsters killed in cycling accidents, by teaching them the importance of bicycle safety.
The project is designed to encourage youngsters to wear helmets and teach them that keeping bicycles roadworthy and well maintained is vitally important to keep them safe.
Angela Lee, chief executive and founder of The Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust, said: “Wearing a helmet has been shown to reduce head injuries by up to 88 per cent*, but only a meagre 17 per cent of children wear one.
“We’re delighted to be working with WD-40 to launch this important initiative, which will not only be a lot of fun for the kids, but the winning helmet design could also help to save lives.
“We know that image and peer pressure is one of the big factors that deters a lot of young cyclists from wearing a helmet and believe this project will provide an insight in to what young people themselves find appealing.”
Amy Long, from WD-40, said: “It is essential for children to understand the importance of safety whilst out on their bikes – this is from understanding the benefits of wearing a helmet, to making sure bikes are maintained.
“We’re focused on helping the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust encourage more youngsters to be safe on their cycles by being more proactive in their approach, and we hope this initiative keeps it fun and engaging to strike a chord with children.”
The charity is urging creative children to draw a design which will be used on a new bike helmet and manufactured by Lazer.
The winning designer will also have the award-winning Animal WD-40 Sports Action Tour perform at their school – a fantastic stunt show that has to be seen to be believed.
The competition is open to all primary schools across the UK.
*Figures from the Cochrane Review Library which are international providers of scientific papers.