In its 10th year, the Head Smart Program — hosted by the Voorhees Police Department — will continue rewarding children who wear helmets while riding bikes, rollerblades or scooters.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — a national nonprofit scientific and educational organization that is dedicated to reducing the number of deaths, injuries and property damage from crashes — more than 90 percent of bicyclists who were killed in 2008 reportedly weren’t wearing a helmet. Deaths of bicyclists 16 and older increased 91 percent since 1975 and 13 percent of all bicyclists who died in an accident in 2008 were under 16.
State law requires all children under 16 to wear a helmet while riding a bike.
When a Voorhees police officer spots children wearing a helmet, they receive a coupon for a free slice of pizza from Passariello’s Pizzeria & Italian Eatery, water ice from Diane’s Italian Water Ices or miniature golf from Pleasant Valley Mini Golf, Police Chief Lou Bordi said. Wearing a helmet and understanding the safety techniques involved in riding a bike are important factors in saving lives, Bordi said.
“It’s hard to put a number on that,” he said.
Giving children prizes to wear helmets is not the only safety program Voorhees offers to students and adults. The Voorhees Township Board of Education offers bike safety programs through the Community Education and Recreation program, which teaches children about proper hand signals, bike officers and their equipment, the locations of township-wide bike paths and more, Bordi said.
According to Bordi, the program was formed to not only encourage children to carry out safety practices while riding around town, but to develop a relationship between the community and police. The program has been around for so long, the children run up to officers to get a coupon for wearing a helmet, he said.
“We give out a lot every year,” Bordi said, adding parents respond positively toward the program.
In the future, and with access to more resources, Bordi said he hopes to add something new to the program, or even find more ways to promote helmet safety while making the community comfortable with the presence of police.
“It’s a program that increases safety, community and is a public relations position [for the police department],” he said. “We are proud of it and it makes sense.”
