The news could have been a lot worse for Emmy winning star of 2 ½ Men, Jon Cryer.

Cryer was taking part in California’s Nautica Malibu Triathlon, which includes an ocean swim, an 18-mile bike ride and a 4-mile run. He had to pull out though after suffering minor personal injuries in a nasty crash during the bike race portion. He is thankful his injuries were not worse and credits wearing a helmet for protecting him from a significant brain injury.

Cryer told news sources, “I have an awesome bike… it’s what the pros use. Unfortunately I am not a pro cyclist… I decided to get super-aggressive as I was going down hill and I got to the bottom… going as fast I could possibly go, the wheel starts wobbling I over-corrected and absolutely just ate it. I did the wobbling back skid where the bike just flies out from underneath you… I skidded probably like 15 feet on my skin… You know how cyclists wear the leotard that offers zero protection? I used that to break my fall.”

He further notes that without a helmet he would have suffered a nasty head injury: “My helmet took the brunt of it thankfully. I could feel the helmet cracking as my head went back… I could feel the helmet giving way. I was like, I really don’t want to buy it.”

Cryer’s episode serves as a reminder of the importance of wearing bicycle helmets to protect yourself from serious head, neck and brain injuries in the event of a bicycle accident.

If you have suffered a bike accident injury, seek the advice of an experienced Elk Grove personal injury attorney right away to make sure you get the compensation you deserve.

All types of bicycle accidents are on the rise, including single bike accident, car bike collisions and bike/pedestrian accidents.

Some bicycling accident facts include:

• Emergency rooms see about 540,000 bicyclists each year;
• In California, bicycle accidents result in over 100 deaths each year;
• 10 to 15 percent of cyclists reporting injuries have brain injuries;
• Two-thirds of bicycling deaths are due to traumatic brain injury; and
• Between 45 and 88 per cent of cyclists’ brain injuries could be prevented by a helmet

• Always obeying the rules of the road, including all traffic signals;
• Keep an eye out for cars at driveways, cross streets and parking places;
• Yield to pedestrians;
• Don’t ride “double”; and
• Use appropriate hand signals to let other drivers and riders know your intentions.