European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 02, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes Friday september 2, 1977 modern Medicine statistics show biking in t Oil that harmless by Michael j. Halberstam . Bicycles those seemingly benign devices that children and adults enjoy so much Are not so harmless after All. They head the list As number one Hazard of some 10,000 products monitored by the consumer product safety commission. About 100 million bicyclists Are Riding Over 80 million bicycles in the . The ranks have doubled since i960, reflecting the bicycle s growing popularity in maintaining physical fitness preserving the environment saving on gasoline and transportation costs and i simply being fun. The dark Side of this trend is that the Tor Loise like bicycle must share Road space with the Hare like automobile. Most bicycle riders enter the Competition blissfully ignorant of safety rules. Results in 1975 some 40.000 disabling injuries requiring More than a Day s recovery of cured following collisions Between bicycles and motor vehicles. The same year Accord ing to the consumer product safety commis Sion the number of All bicycle related injuries requiring Hospital emergency room treatment was nearly 466,000. Over two thirds of the accidents involved children Between five and 14. The hazards Are great because neither Chil Dren nor parents seem to realize that a Bicy Cle is not a toy and the moment it crosses the Lawn or sidewalk it is a potentially lethal instrument. Yet there is Little bicycle safety education in the schools leaving about a nine year Gap Between indoctrination on How to Cross the Street safely and How to drive a car. The major cause of accidents Are losing control because of improper braking reckless Riding mechanical and structural problems and catching feet or clothing in the chains wheels or spokes. For example one cause of injury is Shoul Der bags slipping off the shoulder and Jam Ming the front wheel which causes the rider to be pitched Over the handlebars. This mishap can be avoided by wearing shoulder bags diagonally across the Chest. Among the More arcane injuries is Handlebar  an ailment of Long distance bicyclists. One 22-year-old student who Rode a bicycle across the . In 30 Days noticed on the 10th Day. A weakness in both hands. This was caused by his gripping the handlebars so tightly that he put pressure on the nerves sup plying the hands. His condition improved spontaneously after he stopped bicycling Lor several months. Another Long distance bicycling problem is ischaemic neuropathy or numbness of the Penis in cyclists Riding 40 Miles or More at a steady Pace. The numbness is caused by com pressing the Penis Between the bicycle seat and the pubic Bone and fortunately is Tempo Rary. Accident statistics show that the bicyclist s biggest sin against safety is Riding against traffic. This practice makes the Impact be tween a car going 25 Miles per hour and a bicycle going 12 a total 37 Miles per hour. And there is very Little time for the automobile to see the bicycle coming. Also a Bike weaving in and out against traffic subconsciously enrages Many Drivers. The second greatest sin against safety is that committed by automobile Drivers who make right turns into traffic look to the left and never see the bicycle at their right. The National safety Council estimates that if these two situations were eliminated and if better bikeway were built bicycle accidents could be significantly reduced. In the mean time  the Best resource for pre venting bicycle accidents. They must teach their children and themselves to drive a Safe Bike that is in Good mechanical condition and fits the rider try the brakes before each ride. Obey traffic regulations a bicycle is subject to the same Laws As automobiles. Drive with not against traffic ride single file and do not Cut in and out of traffic. Watch for Drain grates soft shoulders Loose Sand and gravel. Do not carry passengers or packages and never hitch a ride on another vehicle. Hand signal when turning or stopping and use red reflectors and lights at night. C new York times mrs. Carter tells experts fear of mentally ill must be fought Vancouver British Columbia a Rosalynn Carter has told an International meeting of mental health experts that their first priority should be teaching society not to fear the mentally ill. We must create a climate in which our most vulnerable Are accepted she said. We must Start first with them. Then the rest will fall naturally into  president Carter s wife honorary chair Man of the presidential commission on mental health said the mentally ill rank below sex convicts and alcoholics As desirable people in the Public opinion. A study published a few years ago reveals that out of 21 groups of disabled persons the sex convicts the retarded the alcoholics were least preferred were Way Down on the list but the mentally ill were the last she told the closing session of the 1977 world Congress on mental health. Although we recognize the necessity to take patients out of Backrooms and closets and into Community based centers the Public worries that they might be dangerous and irresponsible members of society the first lady said. In spite of All our efforts Many people Are still afraid to live next door to an sex patient. They think that crime will increase their Chil Dren will be harmed their values  about 2,000 mental health professionals from 40 countries attended the conference. 1 mrs. Carter s commission is to submit a preliminary report to president Carter sept. 1. Mrs. Carter did not say what the recommendations would be. But she said that if the problems of the men tally ill were More widely known there would be More Money available from the govern ment for aiding the mentally ill. Consider this she said in the United states our cancer society has two and one half million volunteers our heart association has two million our mental health association has Only about 230,000. Yet there is no rational basis for those Fig ures. Twenty million americans Are in need of mental health care right now roughly 10 per cent of the population whereas just Over a million americans died of heart attacks last year and More than 350,000 died of  across 1 Moose like animal4 wading Bird 8 assuage 12 sheltered Side 13 Border upon 14 poisonous tree 15 known before hand 17 beams 18 a Gem 19 Trojan 20 mexican coins 22 Bard 24 uncles Scot 25 hider on ship29 Waterfall 30 woman s Scarf 31 chalice 32 Bahamas resort 34 store away 35 accidental crack 36 relentless 37 regenerate40 to Box 41"-, a Bone  42 caricaturist46 Small comb form 47 auricular48 new comb form 49 kind of Moss 50 infant 51 Lively down1 sprite 2 Between cancer and Virgo 3 Coal Oil 4 heroic stories 5 ancient greek Coin 6 flee 7 corroded 8 Princess loved by zeus 9 armadillo 10 states avg. Solution time 25 min. Is answer to yesterday s Puzzle. 11 being16 epic poetry 19 inventor of sewing machine 20 Mere Money 21 arabian chieftain 22 wading Bird 23 Young Donkey 25 portico 26 irrigating 27 cupid 28 gape 30 eject 33 writ of execution 34 Altair for one 36 Nutmeg for one 37 storm38 City in Penna. 39 Zola novel 40 Dunlin bird42 weep aloud 43 to Ifor words 44 Urchin 45 Bauble today crossword 12 15 20 24 32 41 49 21 18 39 33 35 30 2s 50 22 19 36 14 n 34 26 51 10 27 28 9-2 Onn dear Ann on behalf of motor Cycle enthusiasts across the nation i be come up with a list of things car Drivers can do to kill More motorcyclists this year 1 throw things out the window when there is a Bike behind you. At 55 Mph Cigar ashes can permanently Blind a person. A piece of paper thrown out at that Speed could startle a biker and cause him to crash. 2 pull out in front of bikers. We Are second class motorists. Actually bikers have the same rights As the Driver of an 18 wheel Semi pulling out in front of a motorcycle gives the rider four choices he can a skid laying the Bike Down and possibly dying b run into the car ahead instant death get clobbered by an oncoming car also instant death hit the ditch 20 per cent Chance of survival. 3 when passing a biker Cut it close for kicks. They re skin Nier than cars so they Don t need a whole Lane. A motorcycle is a lot More fragile than most people think. We cant Stop on a dime Dodge flying objects drive on a two foot wide pavement and Hope to survive Long enough to see our children grow up. Please people i pay my tax Sand respect the Law. I try to be considerate on the Road. If you treat me badly on the Road i will die it s As simple As that. Thank you for letting me have my say. . Dear . Now that you be had your say May i ask a ques Tion Why Don t you people who want to live support legislation to make helmets mandatory in Stead of screaming about your constitutional rights dear Ann this is for ago Yin Connecticut who wondered if she should stick with her married Man i spent 13 years from age 20 to 33 waiting for a Man to leave his wife for me and the child we had together. Thirteen years of hear ing the Standard excuses i can t risk the trouble it might cause in the  my wife s health in t Good. Let s wait till she s  Inci dentally they had no children finally i made the break and i have never been happier. I am seeing a fascinating and Intelli gent Man who knows about my past and accepts me on the basis of what i am today. I deserve a kick in the Tail for wasting All those Good years. Tell agony to Wake up. Six months from now Shell wonder what she Ever saw in him. I like my new moccasins dear Moc did you say 13 years and a child out of wed lock you re Lucky lady. Dear Ann Landers i nearly cried when i read the letter from the woman who was upset be cause her son in Law called her hey  she s got it pretty Good. You ought to hear what Myson in Law Calls me. I be done everything but Standon my head for that big ape and he is completely unresponsive. Any suggestions on How i can get him to be at least civil Belladonna dear Donna the big ape knows be is getting to you and he s enjoying it. Give him the deep six for a few weeks and see what happens. C 1977 Field enterprises inc