MIDDLETOWN – Township police have incorporated the carrot and the stick into their enforcement of local helmet laws – the carrot, in this case, being free ice cream and pizza at local restaurants.
In an effort to promote safety helmet use among bike riders, rollerbladers and skateboarders, police patrols will be issuing tickets to youths caught wearing their helmets. But these won’t be the bad kind of tickets – people will actually want these. That’s because each one will be redeemable for either a free ice cream cone or a slice of pizza at any of eight establishments. Participating restaurants include Anna’s Italian Ice, DaVinci Pizzeria, Romeo’s Pizza, Bevacqua’s Deli, Ciao Bella, Middletown Pizza and Subs, Luigi’s Pizza and the Dairy Queen on Chapel Hill.
“We’re doing it to encourage anyone under the age of 17 to wear a helmet,” Deputy Chief Joseph Braun said.
Those who don’t have bike helmets can pick one up for free at the police station, because the police Superior Officers Association has bought a large number of them specifically for this purpose. Posters and pamphlets on helmet safety have also been distributed to all public schools to help children better understand the importance of wearing their safety helmet.
Braun said that the police have been doing this for the past few years, with the idea having come from the Middletown Retired Police Officers Association, and is being performed in cooperation with the New Jersey Brain Injury Association. Braun said this will be an ongoing program.
“This is something we will do for quite some time, it’s not just like for a month or something. This will be an ongoing program because there are always younger kids just starting out riding their bikes and we want to encourage them to wear their bike helmet,” said Braun.
Helmets, according to police, are the single most effective safety device available to reduce brain injury or death from bicycle, skateboard or rollerblade crashes. Studies report bike helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by almost 90 percent.
Braun said that helmets aren’t just for kids either – adults should wear them too.
“I would encourage the parents to be sure that their children have a proper bike helmet and that they wear it, and also not just on bikes, but on skateboards and rollerblades, and would also ask that parents set an example for their children by wearing one themselves,” Braun said.