Bicycle safety through the eyes of a survivor

BRECKENRIDGE — A fleet of about 200 bicycles was parked amid fire trucks and police cruisers at Upper Blue Elementary School Thursday morning, where kids received tune-ups, helmets and a crash course in bicycle safety.

Captain Jason Kline, whose life helmets may well have saved in two incidents, said the annual Bike Safety Rodeo’s effect on safety awareness is evident with “95 percent of kids wearing helmets here.”

Kline and other firefighters for the Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District — along with officers from Breckenridge Police Department — navigated kids through a series of safety instructions and equipment checks.

Kline took a moment from helping with brakes and tires Thursday to explain his helmet-cracking experiences.

In September 2002, he was cycling on the recreation path from Vail to Frisco, near the Frisco restaurant now called El Toreo. He was on the right side of the yellow line, rounding a blind corner when “another cyclist crossed over to pass a couple people” and “hit me head-on.”

Kline spent the next four days recovering from two surgeries at St. Anthony Central hospital in Denver. His fractured jaw was wired shut for nine weeks.

Without a helmet there’s a “good possibility I’d be dead or a vegetable,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

A scar remains beneath Kline’s nose where his teeth busted through the lip. He’s saved the cracked, dented and scratched helmet to occasionally show at the bike rodeos.

Another incident

Four years ago, he was bicycling in Denver when a car struck him.

“I broke my hand on that one,” he said.

As in the previous incident, he was following the rules of bicycle safety — crossing the street on a marked bike route and obeying the signal. The car was making a right turn.

The collision resulted in another cracked helmet for Kline. He said it’s important to replace helmets that have been in accidents, and many manufacturers will discount the purchase of a replacement.

Kids on Thursday who didn’t have helmets were given shiny, new ones. They also were taught hand signals and cruised through cone-lined courses.

“I have two kids, and they don’t get on bikes or scooters without helmets on,” Kline said.

Fire district spokeswoman Kim Scott said the bike safety program has been used in local schools for about 10 years. It’s part of a monthly Risk Watch injury prevention program in Upper Blue and Breckenridge elementary schools.

Local nurse Kelley Lau demonstrated the importance of a helmet before some kindergarten and first grade students when by dropping a little helmeted watermelon on the sidewalk. The melon was removed unscathed.

She dropped the melon unprotected and it smashed in half, leaving a puddle of red, chunky juice.

Robert Allen can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or rallen@summitdaily.com.