1. What are some of the helmet
laws and regulations currently out there?
Every state
varies on helmet and bicycle laws. Bicyclists are required by law to wear a
helmet in 21 states and the District of Columbia. There is no bicycle helmet
use laws in 29 US states.
I do not advocate
for more laws, nor having more government in our lives.
However the facts
are that Helmets prevent serious injuries and even deaths.
Two facts
highlight this
1) Studies by the Center for disease control and by the
pediatric Association, both show that when helmets were mandated for bicycles
that Traumatic brain injuries when down by 75% and fatalities went down by 85%.
2) According to the Center for disease control the number one
cause of traumatic brain injuries in children under age 5 is in car wreck and
mostly in car safety seats
Consider that,
85% of deaths eliminated!
2. Why is it so tempting to go
helmet-free?
There are many
reasons why we don’t see 100% participation in wearing helmets.
One reason is the lack of
understanding in how dangerous it is to not wear a helmet. Only about ½ the
states do not require bicyclist to wear helmets. So I would think education is
the way to go.
For some people, it may just be
the inconvenience, others may think that the appearance might make them appear
un-cool / goofy or some kids might think it is not “tough” to wear helmets.
Those reasons and excuses can
easily be defeated when there are so many different models styles and colors of
helmets available today. Every size, fit, style or color are available.
In everyday life, helmets play
a huge role in safety. Virtually every dangerous activity involves a helmet =
skateboards, baseball, football, martial arts, motorcycles. Even bull riders
wear helmets so nobody can say tough folks don’t wear helmets.
Combat soldiers, helicopter
pilots, police officers on motorcycles and police on horses, Snow skiers,
mountain climbers, Fireman, snowmobilers…in today’s modern world helmets are
everywhere.
As with anything, it could be
money; the cost of buying a helmet. That is one reason why our charity The
Justice for Children Foundation, Inc., chooses to have FREE helmet give-aways
for children. (www.Headsinhelmets.com)
Even though I do not advocate
for more laws, about ½ the states do not require bicyclist to wear helmets.
Perhaps in the states that require helmets and will issue citations or tickets,
which may motivate more people to wear helmets.
3) Why is it so important to wear a helmet?
Simply the padding and cushion
of a helmet lessens the impact to the skull. Less trauma equals less damage.
We have to find a way to get
the message to bicyclist, parents and kids that helmets prevent 75% automatic
brain injuries and 85% of deaths.
4) What are some things that people who do
wear helmets overlook?
Making sure the helmet is a
proper fit and adjusted correctly.
Many folks wear a helmet and
don’t strap it. That completely defeats the purpose of a Helmet.
Most helmets come with
removable pads that can be added or taken out to meet the proper fit. They are
easy to install or remove with Velcro.
There are plenty of videos on
the internet on how to properly fit helmets.
5) How can parents encourage their kids to
wear helmets?
We help parents trying to learn
information to keep their kids safe. This is one of the reasons why we promote
information about helmets for parents and we show kids that Helmets are cool!
Our charity does TV and radio
interviews all of the country. We promote our safety on our charity webpage. We
attend to community event, parades, schools, churches and promote helmet/safety
information so that parents and others learn how important helmets are in
preventing Traumatic brain injuries and deaths.
Parents can do what we do. We
show kids that helmets are cool!
Our charity The Justice for
children foundation and my law firm, Spiva Law Group, we go to community
events and educate the public and we giveaway helmets to kids.
Our program is helmets for
life. We replace the helmets for FREE, as the child grows.
www.headsinhelmet.com
Yes HELMETS ARE COOL!: We show
kids through seeing their heroes wearing helmets
ü Famous Skateboarders,
ü Kids doing tricks on bicycles,
ü Sport celebrities,
ü Police officers on horses, on motorcycles,
ü Fireman on their fire trucks,
ü Military such as on helicopters pilots,
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ü Combat Soldier
ü Super Heros: Bat Man, Boba Fett, Captain
America, Iron Man, Kathryn Artemis, Magneto, Darth Vader, Thor, Paw Patrol,
Dora The Explorer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tron, Roxy Rocket, Power
Rangers
When
a parent is placing their child on a bicycle or in a car ask them: “Do you want
to be a race car driver or a Karate girl?… or a police officer? Or a super
hero?…”
”We also put FUN
stickers on the helmets that each child selects… We often paint them…
It’s very
rewarding to see kids get all excited about a helmet,
Some parents
tell me they won’t even take the helmet off in the shower!
We carry this
message to the community at
Ø Events,
Ø Schools (special needs, kindergarten…)
Ø Churches
Ø Health fairs
Ø YMCA
Ø Parades.
WE MAKE
HELMETS COOL!
We save kids one helmet at a time!
MAKE IT A GREAT
DAY!!
We are honored that other law firms and attorneys
endorse and recommend us... http://spivalaw.com/endorsements/
We are proud of what our clients say about our
firm...
TV and Radio Interviews
The Justice For
Children Foundation has been protecting kids from brain injuries for over 18
years. Attorney Howard Spiva co-founded the charity in 1999 and began a program
to give free bicycle safety helmets to children.
Over the years,
Howard’s “Helmets For Life” program has provided free safety helmets to
families in Savannah and southern Georgia and put tens of 1000’s of heads in
helmets.
The program has
been received so well that the charity is now expanding nationally and reaching
out to attorneys across America to help further the cause.
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