FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- Bicycle helmet safety is front and center in Fairview Park this summer where the police department, AAA, Fairview Park Kiwanis and the DariView Ice Cream have teamed up for different campaigns.
“For the last 15 years our department has participated in the AAA Helmet Smart program, which provides us with certificates that officers while on patrol when seeing a child riding with a helmet will stop to give out,” Fairview Park Police Chief Paul Shepard said.
“The certificate -- good for one free ice cream cone -- is a reward for doing the right thing. Also, with the certificate, there’s an entry form that you mail in to AAA. Once a month they give away a free bicycle. I can tell you a few years ago a Fairview Park kid won a free bike.”
AAA Safety Advisor Lori Cook said Northeast Ohio’s Helmet Smart program dates back a quarter of a century.
“During that time, the law enforcement agencies in Northeast Ohio have found this program to be a positive way to reinforce among children the benefit of wearing a helmet,” Cook said.
“Police officers and parents have enjoyed the positive interaction that this program provides, as well as the safety benefits of reducing potential traumatic brain injury.”
Depending on the year, Shepard said Fairview Park police officers have given out anywhere from 100 to 500 citations annually for Helmet Smart, which also has a secondary goal.
“It’s a positive contact between an officer and a child and residents,” Shepard said. “These are opportunities for our guys to get out of the car and to talk to somebody.”
There’s also a new wrinkle to this year’s Fairview Park police bike helmet safety effort involving the Fairview Park Kiwanis Club. The Ohio Kiwanis in 2020 started The Family First campaign.
“They prioritized preventing traumatic childhood brain injuries for kids, who are engaged in wheeled sports such as bike riding, skateboarding and rollerblading,” Shepard said. “Through donations, they purchased helmets that could be issued to kids who didn’t have one at no charge.
“Each police cruiser will be stocked with small, medium and large bicycle helmets for officers on patrol to hand out. The helmets are also available at our police station.”
Both the AAA Helmet Smart program and the Ohio Kiwanis Family First campaign will run now through Labor Day.
“We’re excited to see how this works and where we can go from here,” Shepard said. “This opens us up to other ideas down the road. We’re open to anything we can that helps the community and is positive.”
Read more news from the Sun Post Herald here.
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