Dallas City Council

1500 Marilla Street

Room 5FN

Dallas, Texas 75201

Dear Council Members:

The Dallas County Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association urges you to continue

the ban on in-line skating on city streets. Members of our organization discussed our

dissatisfaction with this proposal at our most recent meeting and vigorously object to the

safety hazards that would potentially befall. Our organization believes this would be an

imprudent action that would certainly be of disservice to the community.

Through exploration of the issue of in-line skating we found literature indicating that a

study completed by safety experts indicated that just over one percent of in-line skaters

utilized knee pads, wrist guards, elbow pads, and a helmet These protective devices are

all suggested for those engaging in this activity. The study also suggested that nearly

thirty-three percent. wore no protective equipment. These statistics in combination with

the crowded, traffic-ridden streets of Dallas equate havoc, The findings of this study are

available from Health Watch, a public service at the University of Texas Southwestern

Medical Center at Dallas. In addition, the National Center for Injury Prevention and

Control indicates that greater than 30,000 injuries are treated in emergency rooms each

year from in-line skating.

We, as emergency nurses, see these accidents first hand and are truly interested in the

general safety and well being of the community. Again, we strongly urge you to keep this

recreational activity in more controlled and safe environment and away from city streets.

We also encourage you to take actions to combat the poor statistics that are certainly

indicative of potential injury to our citizens and enact measures to assure compliance

with the suggested protective equipment for in-line skating in safer, controlled,

recreational settings.

Respectfully,

Catherine M. Paul, RN

1999 President

Emergency Nurses Association

Dallas County Chapter