Bike helmet program returns
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » State Sen. Jim Tedisco kicked off the 21st year of his Safe Summer Bike Helmet Program on Tuesday bearing gifts for youngsters and adults.
The bike helmet program is a longtime partnership between Tedisco, local law enforcement agencies, and area businesses focused on getting kids to wear the helmets when they’re on their bikes.
Tedisco, R-Glenville, made the official announcement of the program’s start standing in a shaded area of the Southern Saratoga County YMCA parking lot, 1 Wall St.
Before explaining the details of the bike safety program, however, he took time to present a state grant for $25,000 to the local YMCA to help with the organization’s Youth in Government Program.
“This YMCA provides a tremendous number of outstanding programs for all ages,” Tedisco said. “They’re not only physical programs but they have some tremendous educational program and one of them is the Youth in Government Program. I can’t see a better place to develop an understanding and appreciation of public service than here at the YMCA with its Youth in Government Program.”
Anzala Alozie, the executive director of Youth Development and the Albany YMCA said there are 56 students in the program from around the Capital Region, 12 from the southern Saratoga County area. She added that though the program
is a national YMCA program, it started in New York.
“The students do research and find issues that are important to them and then draft bills and legislation that they then present on the floor of the state Capitol,” she said. “They study all parts of the legislative process including lobbying and the media. They present their case and argue the sides.”
After making presentation of the grant, Tedisco turned back to the issue of bike safety. With the Safe Summer Bike Helmet Program, kids who wear their bike helmets while biking may be rewarded with “ticket” for a free ice cream cone from any law enforcement officer who spots them.
Additionally, hundreds of bike helmets have been donated to the program by the law firm of Martin, Harding, and Mazzotti. Any child in need of a bike helmet can get one free by simply having a parent call up their local law enforcement agency and ask for one.
“This is a good time of the year to send a message to the kids and the adults because the kids are going to be out there recreating, just as a lot of adults will be,” Tedisco said. “A bike helmet costs $20. On average there are 19,000 bike accidents in the state every year that send people to hospital emergency rooms. Twenty million dollars a year is spent, on average, for brain related injuries. And unfortunately there’s 54 deaths a year, on average, from bike accidents. So it only makes sense that every person who rides a bike wears a helmet.”
He noted that in many cases interactions between young people and law enforcement are not always the best. The free ice cream coupon from the Safe Summer Bike Helmet Program is a way to change that.
“With this program law enforcement will stop young bike riders who they see wearing their helmets and tell them they’re giving them a ticket, a good ticket, for obeying the law and wearing a helmet,” Tedisco said. “With the good ticket a coupon is attached for a free ice cream cone.”
The news of the connection between wearing a helmet State Sen. Jim Tedisco leads a group of young riders around the Southern Saratoga YMCA parking lot Tuesday as part of his Safe Summer Bike Safety Program and getting a free ice cream cone spreads through the neighborhood, Tedisco said, and not only helps put helmets on kids’ heads but cuts down on bike injuries and emergency room visits.
Saratoga County Sheriff Mike Zurlo, who took part in the announcement, said the county is very compliant where the helmet law is concerned.
“But this does more,” he said. “Something like this gets the word out to the adults that school is out and there will be more kids riding bikes so be careful.”
After a few moments spent discussing the proper way to wear a bike helmet, Tedisco hopped on his bike and was joined by about 40 young riders for a trip around the back parking lot.
Tedisco said he created the program shortly before the bike helmet law went into effect 21 years ago.
“We were discussing how to enforce it,” he said. “Everyone felt there was no way you could give tickets out to the kids. What were we going to do? So we came up with the idea to use ice cream as a positive reinforcement. Law enforcement really likes it. We get calls weeks in advance from them asking us for the (free ice cream) coupons.”
The ice cream coupons can be validated at Stewart’s Shops, Friendly’s Restaurants, Ben and Jerry’s, and Hayner’s Ice Cream Hall of Fame.