Get Helmets Fitted, Bikes Inspected At Bike Safety Event Saturday In South OC

LAKE FOREST, CA — To promote education and safety in the community, Providence Mission Hospital is hosting a free 'Bike-X and Helmets' event on Saturday in Lake Forest.

Attending residents will hear vital education regarding bicycles and e-bikes and take part in a helmet fitting and giveaway, bike inspections and more.

The event will feature live BMX stunt shows at 11 a.m. and noon, a bike rodeo as well as e-bike safety education.

Providence Mission Hospital's trauma team will also fit free multi-sport style black helmets for children aged 2-17 years old on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The event takes place on Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Saddleback Church's upper lot, 1 Saddleback Lane.

At Providence Mission Hospital, Dr. Tetsuya Takeuchi told Patch that trauma incidents involving e-bikes and children have reached unprecedented numbers.

In 2025, there was a total of 255 e-bike-related traumas treated at Providence Mission Hospital, and most of those patients were children, with 75 percent of those cases being boys and 25 percent of those cases being girls.

Takeuchi said most e-bike trauma cases for both children and adults involve head and neck injuries — a statistic that could change, he said, if more of Orange County's bike-riding population wore helmets.

"People land on their head when they’re falling, so you would think that wearing one is a no brainer for an e-bike," Takeuchi said. "At the same time, when we look at helmet use, we are up to 60 percent in my center, meaning 40 percent don’t wear one."

Mainly, its the adults failing to wear their helmets, Takeuchi said.

"We noticed that if we separate kids and adults, kids are pretty compliant [with wearing helmets]," Takeuchi said. "But the adult population isn't wearing helmets."

If more bike-riding adults wore helmets consistently, Takeuchi believes more children would follow suit.

"It doesn't matter how much you tell your kids to have their helmet on," he said. "If they see you without your helmet on, they aren't going to take it seriously."