Safe Kids Helmet Giveaway – Gary Bruce on WTVM 9
Injury & Accident Attorney Serving Nearby Areas of Columbus & Fort Benning, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama
Gary Bruce announces the annual Safe Kids Helmet Giveaway and explains why this is such an important event. Georgia and Alabama law requires that everyone under the age of 16 riding on the road, sidewalk, or a bike path wear a helmet. There are 1200 hospital visits for bike, scooter, skate and skateboard accidents every day – 11-15% of which are for head injuries.
The Safe Kids Helmet Giveaway not only provides helmets for children and teens 14 and under, but also instructs participants on properly fitting a child for a helmet. This year’s giveaway will take place this Friday, December 15th from 4-6 PM at the Columbus Library. We hope to see you again next year!
Transcript:
Narrator: Now answering your questions about the law and legal issues this is Legal Break with attorney Gary Bruce.
Maureen: Hello there we’re here today with Gary, as always thank you so much for joining us again!
Gary: Thank you, good to be here.
Maureen: Well it’s almost that time of year as we’re coming up on Christmas. A lot of kiddos get bikes as gifts, and along with that should come a helmet? Tell us a little bit about what the law requires in that regard.
Gary: The law is pretty clear both in Georgia and Alabama. If you’re under 16 and you’re on the roads or you’re on a bike path even, you need a helmet. A lot of kids don’t, but you know we want to see kids in helmets. The statistics are fairly alarming, we have 1,200 children go to the emergency room a day in the United States because of injuries from wheeled toys; bikes, scooters, skateboards, that kind of thing.
While the majority of injuries are broken arms, strains and sprains to the hands and wrists and such. A large part of them, 11 to 15%, apparently are head injuries.
Maureen: Wow.
Gary: So if you’re wearing a helmet you got a chance, and so that’s what we’re here about. It’s been eight years we’ve started with Safe Kids and we’ll be having the annual helmet fitting and helmet giveaway at the main library here in Columbus this Friday.
Maureen: Oh very good, and why are you involved in that? I know so it’s near and dear to your heart and something special that you do every year.
Gary: Well I’ve enjoyed being a part of it with safe kids because it’s such a great organization. I mean they really do reach out and educate and help. The event is not just to give away helmets, the event is to teach. We want parents to understand why it’s important, we want parents to understand how to fit a helmet. You don’t have to come there and get a helmet, we want you to just come, it’s for everybody. It’s a lot of fun, it kind of starts off the Christmas holiday for me but we want parents there to learn why they should have it. That’s the majority of the reason why kids don’t wear helmets is the parent doesn’t think it’s important. “Oh it’s safe here, it’s not going to be a problem.” Well unfortunately you know it’s too late once it is.
So come on out 4 to 6 at the main library in Columbus. It’s open to everybody, we’d love to have you. Free helmets for kids 14 and under while they last, I think we got plenty – we want to get a thousand kids with helmets this year.
Maureen: Fantastic and again that’s to help with the safety issue as you mentioned
it starts in the home, it’s so very important. And you can do cool things with those helmets too!
Gary: I’m always impressed and I’ve said this before. When you get down to the Riverwalk and see all the families with helmets on, that’s what we need. Let’s teach safety from early time.
Maureen: Great, thank you so much for joining us today Gary, we look forward to seeing you on the very next legal break!
