Helmet Hair Don't Care
Helmet Hair Don't Care is a campus-wide bike safety initiative that will provide bike safety training and free bike helmets to students, staff, and faculty.
Introduction:
Biking is an integral part of the built environment at UC Davis and as a Platinum Bike Friendly University, UC Davis is an ideal place to choose biking as a preferred method of transportation. However, we have alarmingly low bike helmet usage rates, and bike crashes frequently occur. Therefore, Helmet Hair Don’t Care (HHDC) is launching a new model that includes the entire campus community and aims to make active transportation safer by providing access to free and low-cost helmets and bike education. The new model will require students, staff, and faculty to complete the short bike safety training prior to receiving a free helmet. Alternatively, the same helmet will be sold for $10 to increase access to affordable and safe helmets.
Outcomes:
Short-term outcomes:
- Increase access to bike helmets
- Increase in ability to engage in safe biking behaviors
Long-term outcomes:
- Increase in helmet use
- Decrease in bike crash occurrences on campus
Opportunities for Involvement:
Be a Helmet Hair Don't Care advocate by:
- Sharing information about the Helmet Hair Don't Care Pledge with your peers.
- Posting about why you wear a helmet on social media #helmethairdontcare.
- Proudly wearing your helmet when biking on campus and in the community.
If you'd like to get more involved in Helmet Hair Don't Care efforts, please contact Shantille Connolly at [email protected].
Recent Milestones:
Helmet Hair Don't Care launched in 2016 after a year-long needs assessment to determine why students weren’t wearing helmets. The three main barriers identified for helmet use were cost, appearance, and peer use. When HHDC launched in 2017, 5.7% of UC Davis undergraduates reported wearing a bike helmet mostly or always while the national average was around 35%. After four years of providing over 3,000 free helmets to students, bike helmet usage rates increased by 58%. UC Davis rates are still below the national and UC systemwide average but have continued to increase every two years according to the biannual National College Health Assessment.
Project Lead:
Shantille Connolly, MPH, CHWC, CHES
Health Promotion Specialist, Physical Well-Being
Health Education and Promotion
UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services
[email protected]