COLLISION COURSE? PARENTS, KIDS DIFFER ON SKATE HELMET LAW.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

Parents and kids held very different views Friday on the state Legislature's passage of a measure to require safety helmets when children skate, skateboard or ride scooters.

``Heck, no,'' said Spencer Klienberg, 16, as he headed into Pedlow Skate Park in Encino during a visit from San Diego. ``That's not cool. Skaters should be able to skate the way we want to.''

But nurse Linda Henkin, 43, of Encino, like other parents, begged to differ.

``It's a law in my house,'' said Henkin. ``If they put their skates on, the helmet goes on.''

Under a measure passed by the state Senate and sent to Gov. Gray Davis for his signature, anyone under the age of 18 who rides a skateboard, skates or scooter would be required to wear a helmet. The bill, SB 1924, authored by state Sen. Jack O'Connell, D-Santa Barbara, was passed with a 22-8 vote.

Russell Lopez, spokesman for Davis, said the governor hasn't had time to look at the bill.

Violations could result in $25 fines, although a court could dismiss a first offense. The money would go toward safety education and purchasing helmets for low-income youngsters. Bicycle riders under 18 already are required by state law to wear helmets.

Nationwide, 86,800 skateboarders were treated in hospital emergency rooms in 2000, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Almost 100,000 scooter riders were treated last year.

Closer to home, a 20-year-old Glendale student died last summer after suffering a head injury from a fall from a skateboard.

Skaters interviewed at Pedlow Skate Park, where helmets and protective padding are required, said they often don't wear protective pads or helmets when they street-skate.

The helmets interfere with peripheral vision, they complained. They're one more thing to carry, and mess up their hair. Several were skeptical the $25 fine would be enforced.

``I think it's a good idea,'' said Dirk Minderhout, a 44-year-old Sherman Oaks insurance agent who was skateboarding on his lunch hour. ``Getting kids to follow it is a different story.''

Travis Smith, 16, of Encino, who works at the skate park, said one solution would be to build more skateboarding parks. Well-designed parks will pull kids in from the streets, and parks can require protective padding and helmets.

``I think that measures which reduce the risk of debilitating, long-term injuries to young people are worth the minor expense and inconvenience that they may cause,'' said Dr. Joseph Beezy, emergency room physician at Kaiser-Permanente in Panorama City.

``In a closed head injury, the brain swells and presses on vital centers responsible for thinking and other vital functions. It can also result in bleeding into the brain, which can have devastating consequences.''

In some cases, the child ends up in a chronic vegetative state, Beezy said. In other cases, the child might have a diminished capacity to remember or learn, or to function successfully in social situations.

Pinpoint bruises in the brain can lead to persistent vomiting, persistent headaches and changes in activity level that can persist for as long as six months to a year after injury, said Dr. Alan Nager, head of the division of emergency medicine at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

But he added, ``A rule is only as good as the enforcement and your ability to convince a parent to follow the rules.''

Nager said when his own 15-year-old son, Jared, was 12, he complained that the other kids in the neighborhood called him ``pad boy,'' but Nager insisted that Jared either wear the protective gear or there would be no skateboarding. Jared gave up skateboarding.

It's hard for many parents to stand their ground, Nager said. But if they want to keep their child safe, parents have to insist that the child wear a helmet every time they skateboard, skate or use a scooter, with no exceptions.

``The bottom line is, it's not worth taking the chance - the risk is too great,'' Nager said.

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Photo:

(color) A bill sent to Gov. Davis would require all children under 18 to wear a helmet when riding skates or skateboards.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer