May 14, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (SH2009-29) FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION R. Steve Huffman Public Information Officer (251) 208-2857/Fax: (251) 208-2861 E-Mail: huffman@cityofmobile.org UMS-WRIGHT STUDENT TO BE GIVEN SAFETY ART AWARD Mobile Fire Chief Stephen Dean, Public Education Officer Kent Landsberg and Karen Ivey with RE/MAX Realty will be at the UMS-Wright School Auditorium, Friday, May 15 at 8:00 a.m. to present the Helmet Safety Sticker Contest Award to UMS-Wright student Rachael Stewart, 9. Stewart submitted the winning artwork and safety slogan “Keep it on or you’ll be gone”. Students submit artwork for a safety sticker design and the winning artwork is made into an actual sticker for helmet safety. The winner receives dinner at Firehouse Subs, their artwork is displayed at area Firehouse Subs Restaurants, both the student and the school receives plaques, the winning student also receives 100 stickers of their design and two thousand stickers are distributed to area school children. The Helmet Safety Sticker Contest is sponsored by Karen Ivey with RE/MAX Realty and the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. • There are 73 to 85 million bicycle riders in the US. • An average of 700 bicyclists die on US roads each year. Over 90 percent died in crashes with motor vehicles. • About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized. • 1 in 8 of the cyclists with reported injuries had a brain injury. • Two-thirds of the deaths here are from traumatic brain injury. • A very high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent. ###