As the father of the Texas Medical Association’s Hard Hats for Little Heads program, Houston pain specialist Larry Driver, MD, has a legacy of safety in the state.
What was once a safety device solely for motorcycle enthusiasts, daredevils, and race car drivers, the helmet is now commonplace atop kids on bicycles, skateboards, and scooters in 2024. But 30 years ago, that wasn’t the case.
In 1994, Dr. Driver was practicing in San Angelo when a young neighbor fell off her bike and suffered a concussion. The child was not wearing a bicycle helmet. The doctor knew one could have prevented her injury, so he began work on a bike helmet giveaway program whereby he and his physician colleagues could prevent brain injuries in children.
To test it, he set up a pilot project in San Angelo that successfully gave away 50 helmets. The following year, he introduced a resolution to TMA’s House of Delegates that created the Hard Hats program.
TMA adopted Dr. Driver’s idea, and Hard Hats for Little Heads was born. San Angelo physicians, with the help of the local police department, gave away the program’s first official 500 helmets. The HHLH program would, over 30 years, put more than 422,000 helmets on the heads of Texas children. (See “On Call for Little Heads: 30 Years of Hard Hats,” page 30.)
Dr. Driver and other safety advocates pushed for a statewide law during the 1995 Texas legislative session that would require helmets to be worn by children when riding a bike. Although potential state legislation failed to pass, major Texas cities including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston passed city laws from 1995 to 1997 requiring helmets for minors who ride bikes. As of 2024, there is still no statewide law on the books.
TMA honored Dr. Driver’s safety efforts in 1995 with the Golden Apple Award for Service in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and in 2015 he was also honored by the Texas House of Representatives for starting the program, which had, at that point, exceeded 200,000 helmets given away. The House passed a proclamation that declared April 30 of that year as Hard Hats for Little Heads Day.
“This is an example of how Texas physicians care about Texans, especially young Texans,” Dr. Driver said at the time. “We are all about looking out for their safety.”