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HHS Logo Eagle IconU.S. Department of Health and Human Services

CDC — Bicycle Helmet Safety - b2

HHS Information Quality Web Site

Information Requests for Corrections and HHS' Responses

Response to RFC

[ Full Table of Contents ]

 

July 11, 2013

 

James G. Titus
6718 Glenn Dale Road
Glenn Dale, MD

Dear Mr. Titus,

I am writing in response to your request for correction of information under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Information Disseminated to the Public. Your inquiry concerned information that the CDC disseminates to the public related to the safety and effectiveness of bicycle helmets.

We agree that, as diligent stewards of public trust, CDC has a responsibility to share accurate, up-to-date, and complete health and safety information with the public via all of our communication channels, including the CDC website. After receiving your comments, CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) reviewed the bicycle safety and helmet use-related information on the CDC website. Based on this assessment, CDC has made a number of updates to the website, including removing the statement that “Wearing a bike helmet reduces the risk of brain injury by 88% and reduces the risk of injury to the face by 65%.” We also removed other outdated information, updated statistics, and added information highlighting the importance of properly fitting helmets. That website was updated on March 18, 2013.

Additionally, to ensure that CDC continues to provide the most up-to-date information, NCIPC is in the process of developing a website on bicycle safety which will contain information on bicycle-related injuries and deaths, populations at increased risk of bicycle-related injuries and deaths, and prevention strategies. NCIPC will maintain this website, providing updated statistics as they become available. We anticipate that this website will be available online within six months.

Thank you again for your letter and for bringing this issue to our attention. We appreciate your commitment to bicycle safety. If you wish to appeal this response to your request for correction, you may submit a written appeal or electronic request for reconsideration within 30 days of receipt of our response. The appeal must state the reasons why the agency response is insufficient or inadequate. You must attach a copy of your original request and the agency's response to it. Also, clearly mark the appeal with the words, “Information Quality Appeal” and send the appeal to the following address:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Management Analysis and Services Office
1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Mailstop F-07
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
Fax: (770) 488-4995

 

Sincerely,

/s/
 

G. David Williamson, PhD
Acting Associate Director for Science
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention