I am writing as a deeply concerned community member and as someone who has spent years witnessing the real consequences of preventable head injuries. My professional background includes work as a paramedic, a Sergeant with the Sheriff’s Department, and a Detective Sergeant with the Coroner’s Bureau. I have personally provided prehospital care and investigated fatal incidents involving head trauma — many involving young people, bicycles, and motorized recreational vehicles. It must be strongly emphasized that many of these fatal injuries occurred at low speeds.
What I am seeing more frequently in our neighborhoods is alarming: children and teens riding high-speed electric bikes, electric scooters, and small motorized cycles without helmets, with helmets unstrapped, or wearing them incorrectly. Many of these devices are capable of speeds comparable to moving traffic, yet they are often treated as toys rather than powerful motorized vehicles with serious injury potential.
Parents must understand that a fatal head injury does not require a dramatic crash or extreme speed. I have personally seen deaths occur from simple falls, low-speed impacts, or brief loss of balance when a rider’s head strikes pavement, a curb, or a fixed object. The human skull and brain are not designed to absorb sudden impact. One uncontrolled fall can permanently alter — or end — a life in seconds.