According to New Jersey law, anyone under 17 years of age who rides a bicycle must wear a helmet. While bicycle helmets don’t prevent crashes, use of a bicycle helmet can prevent or lessen the severity of brain injury during a bicycle crash. Even though state law says they must, many children do not wear helmets for a variety of reasons. Some children do not own helmets while others feel that they are unnecessary, not fully understanding their importance. 

 

What can a community do to encourage more kids to obey the helmet law? While police officers in New Jersey have the right to issue a fine to the parent or guardian of any child caught bicycling without a helmet, it is debatable how effective fines are in increasing helmet usage in our communities. Recognizing this concern, some communities in New Jersey have turned traditional enforcement on its head by instead, focusing their efforts on positive reinforcement.

 

Bicycle Safety Day
After the death of 14-year-old Katy Ventura following a bicycle crash in Point Pleasant in which she was not wearing a helmet, the first reaction of the police department was a concentrated effort to enforce the state bicycle helmet law. According to Point Pleasant Police Chief Larry Williams, the crackdown resulted in 200 warnings to people age 17 and younger who rode their bicycles

without a helmet, and 8 to 10 summonses to repeat violators. While the effort had immediate effects, the police department also sought other methods to further spread their bicycle safety message throughout the community.

 

Following the initial crackdown, it occurred to the police that more education was needed. The department sought a way to spread the message about helmet safety using positive reinforcement. Utilizing a grant from the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety and teaming up with the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey, the police department held its first Bicycle Safety Day on Saturday, September 26, 2009. As part of the event, police officers distributed new bicycle helmets to any child or parent who requested one. In addition, Wendy Berk of the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey was on hand to demonstrate the proper way to fit and wear a helmet. Police officers also used the event to address parents. Police Chief Larry Williams said “Parents have to make sure their kids are wearing a helmet when they leave the house.” The police department called upon parents to stress the importance of wearing helmets properly and to make sure that kids are not just hanging them on their handlebars.

 

The Parent Teacher Organization has also been helping to foster more helmet use in Point Pleasant by