Scooters and bicycles abound … but one thing doesn’t – helmets. Look anywhere in Adams County or Concordia Parish these days, and you’re likely to see dozens of youngsters scooting around on Razors or riding bicycles. And, despite continuing calls for safety, few of these children are actually wearing helmets or other protective devices.

&uot;They’re geeky,&uot; children will say.

And parents, or guardians, look the other way, choosing not to press the issue. &uot;We never had bike helmets, and we’re fine,&uot; they will say.

Yet, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates that nearly 60 percent of the more than 11,300 scooter-related injuries reported last year could have been avoided if riders were wearing safety equipment -&160;a helmet, elbow and knee pads and even wrist guards.

And, according to a study by the CPSC, bicycle-related crashes kill as many as 900 people each year, and injury more than 567,000. And the reality is that bicycle helmets could reduce head injuries in those accidents by as much as 85 percent.

Yet, that message fails to make an impact here in the Miss-Lou, where bicycle helmets and certainly scooter helmets are the exception rather than the rule.

And it’s a shame that anyone would fail to take advantage of a simple device that could prove to be the difference between life and death.

Geeky?

Maybe.

A hassle?

Sometimes.

Smart?

You bet.