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Ohio children
to receive more than 9,000 Bike Helmets
Promotes Bike Helmet Safety Awareness Week May 2-10, 2015
COLUMBUS – Around 9,300 bicycle helmets will be going to children
across Ohio thanks to a partnership between the Ohio Department of
Transportation and the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP). ODOT is contributing $25,000 to the campaign with the
Ohio AAP kicking in another $14,000.
The effort is part of the Ohio AAP’s Put a Lid on It! Bike Helmet
Safety Awareness campaign in conjunction with Bike Helmet Safety
Awareness Week May 2-10, 2015
“We are incredibly grateful for ODOT’s support of our Put a Lid on It
campaign, and look forward to this partnership,” said Melissa Wervey
Arnold, Executive Director for the Ohio AAP. “With ODOT’s support, we
will be able to supply three times as many bike helmets to children
than we did last year.”
At an event in Columbus, Yay Bikes and CoGo Bike Share joined ODOT and
Ohio AAP to distribute bike helmets to local organizations across the
state and provided training sessions for biking education, including
how to properly fit children with bike helmets.
A combination of efforts is necessary to effectively increase helmet
usage rates among Ohio children including raising awareness of the
benefits, encouraging model behavior among adults, distributing bike
helmets to Ohio children and advocating for supportive public policies.
“Spring is here and children getting out to enjoy the great outdoors on
their bikes. We want them to be as safe as possible by having the right
equipment,” said ODOT Director Jerry Wray. “We’re happy to be a partner
in this effort to get helmets to children who may not otherwise have
easy access to them.”
As part of Ohio’s transportation system, the state has 4,207 miles of
bike routes and trails, including the Ohio to Erie Trail which connects
Cincinnati and Cleveland. Since 2008, ODOT has invested $60 million
into the Safe Routes to School program which builds sidewalks and
improves street crossings and encourages children to walk or bike to
school safely.
To learn more about Bike Helmet Safety Awareness Week, visit the Put A
Lid On It Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bikehelmetsafety or the
Chapter website at www.ohioaap.org. To learn more about the Ohio
SRTS program visit: www.dot.state.oh.us/saferoutes
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