Kids Urged to 'Get Caught' Wearing a Helmet

Cranford police are rewarding recreational safety this summer by issuing "positive summonses" to children they see wearing helmets while biking, roller skating or skateboarding.

A positive summons can be redeemed for a free slice of pizza at Il Giardino Ristorante on Miln Street. Each summons also contains a raffle ticket for a chance to win another prize in October, as well as information for parents about brain injury and helmet safety.

The initiative is part of a statewide education and awareness initiative designed to prevent brain injury in children and promote the New Jersey State law that requires all children under 17 to wear a helmet when bicycling, roller skating, or skateboarding, according to police officials.

This is the third year in a row that the Cranford Police Department has participated in Think Positive: A Helmet Safety Reward Program with Safe Kids Union County at Children's Specialized Hospital and the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey. The program is funded by the Office for the Prevention of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

The program runs through September.

Brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults.  A properly worn helmet is the single most effective safety device available to reduce brain injury and death by as much as 88 percent according to health saftety officials.

New Jersey’s helmet law requires that “children under the age of 17 wear a helmet while bicycling, skateboarding, and roller-skating.”  

For additional information on brain injury, visit www.bianj.org or call the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey at 1-800-669-4323.