A partnership for a safe summer
It’s summer time and for many children that means enjoying two things: ice cream and bike riding.
We want to encourage children, as well as adults, to be safe when they recreate and I can’t think of a better way to do that than by offering kids a free ice cream cone for doing the right thing and wearing a bike helmet.
It’s the law in New York State that children up to age 14 must wear a bicycle helmet or parents could face a $50 fine. According to the New York State Department of Health, an average of 54 New Yorkers are killed each year in bicycle crashes and 19,000 residents are treated at a hospital due to bike-related injuries.
Head injuries are the leading cause of death and permanent disability in bicycle crashes, accounting for more than 60 percent of bike-related deaths.
The cost of a bicycle helmet is approximately $20.00. The average charge for a hospital stay due to a bicycle related brain injury is $23,000 with an average length of stay of four days. In New York, annual hospitalization charges related to care for persons with a bicycle related brain injury is $20 million.
We know from the latest medical research that concussions can have serious, long-term, negative health risks for children.
When someone’s head hits the ground, the skull stops moving but the brain continues to travel, crashing against the skull. The impact of the brain against the skull bruises and damages delicate brain tissue. This often results in lifelong changes in the way one thinks, acts, feels and moves.
Bike helmets absorb the shock of an impact, and prevent, or reduce, the severity of the crash between the brain and skull.
My Safe Summer Program, which is in its 22nd year, aims to address these alarming statistics by using positive reinforcement to get all neighborhood kids into the habit of wearing their bike helmets.
This year, the Safe Summer Program will distribute 5,000 “good tickets” for free ice cream cones to 23 local police departments to reward children who wear their helmets while bicycling, skateboarding, and rollerblading, and give free bike helmets to kids who need one.
The Safe Summer program is made possible thanks to donations from participating businesses: Stewart’s Shops, Friendly’s, Hayner’s Ice Cream Hall of Fame in Halfmoon and Ben & Jerry’s in Saratoga Springs. The law firm of Martin, Harding and Mazzotti LLP has donated hundreds of new bike helmets to police departments in the 49th Senate District to distribute to children who need them.
There are 23 participating police departments that are distributing free ice cream coupons and bike helmets to kids including in Saratoga County, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, Saratoga Springs Police Department, Ballston Spa Police, Clifton Park Town Security, Galway Police, and Stillwater Police.
The Safe Summer program reminds kids to wear their bike helmets while rewarding good behavior. But make no mistake, it’s a message we all must heed. That means adults as well as children. Parents, please be the model for your kids by wearing a bike helmet when you ride.
We should incentivize our kids while educating them on the importance of bike safety. Coupling free ice cream, free helmets and education with law enforcement is a formula that works to keep kids safe.
Safe Summer also provides positive interactions between law enforcement and kids, which is something that we need now, more than ever.
This program is a true community and public-private partnership among businesses, law enforcement, government and parents and it’s a model for how caring people can come together and promote a fun and safe environment for children.
Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-REF-Glenville) represents the 49th State Senate District which includes parts of Saratoga, Schenectady and Herkimer counties and all of Fulton and Hamilton counties.