Citizen Advocacy Project Part One 1. The policy I am trying to create is a bicycle helmet law that requires all riders 15 and under to wear a helmet. 2. My county will be improved if my policy is implemented because children will be safer riding bicycles. Head injuries resulting from bike wrecks will be less frequent and less severe. Part Two 1. Current Situation a. Source 1: Helmets.org. Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. 16 Aug 2006 http://www.helmets.org/. b. Source 2: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Bicycle Helmet Use Laws. Washington, D.C., 2004. c. Source 3: IIHS.org. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 1996 – 2006. http://www.iihs.org/ d. There is not currently a law anywhere in South Carolina requiring a person to wear a bicycle helmet (3). I think there should be a law for children 15 and under to wear a helmet. The Bicycle Helmet Institute supports mandatory helmet laws because it will raise awareness that helmets save lives (1). There have been more than 47,000 bicyclists killed in traffic accidents in the U.S. since 1932 (2). There are currently 20 states requiring some bicyclists to wear a helmet and 30 states that do not have any helmet laws (3). I feel very strongly that a helmet law will result in more children wearing a helmet. I think wearing helmets will save many children’s lives. I know it helped save mine. 2. How my plan will be an improvement: a. Source 1: “Bicycle Helmets.” Pediatrics. Vol. 108 No. 4 October 2001. b. Source 2: Driving University.com. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 16 Aug 2006. http://www.drivinguniversity.com/ . c. I believe having a mandatory law in Lexington County will protect kids from head injuries. Bicycle helmets are 85% to 88% effective at decreasing brain and head injuries (2). Today only about 20% to 25 % of riders wear helmets (2). Bicycle helmets help by absorbing some of the energy and decreasing the sharp blow to the head (1). The helmet will help the head and the brain from injury in most cases (1). A bicycle helmet can not guarantee a person will not be injured, but I believe it will help prevent many injuries. 3. Counter arguments to my plan: a. Source 1: kenkifer.com. Ken Kifer. 16 Aug 2006. http://www.kenkifer.com/. b. Source 2: cyclinghealth.org. 16 Aug 2006. http://cyclinghealth.org.nz/. c. There are people who are against mandatory bicycle helmet laws. Ken Kifer has an article stating why he doesn’t want mandatory bicycle helmet laws. He talks about people saying that a helmet saved their life, but he knows many people who wrecked and landed on their head and walked away (1). Another article which uses the same reasoning believes that people who say a helmet saved their life is exaggerations (2). However, I know from personal experience that bicycle helmets may save your life. My bike helmet saved me from serious injury. My dad thinks it saved my life. A witness called 9-1-1 be fore he checked on me because he was so sure I was seriously injured. Part Three 1. Allies: a. Group one: Pediatricians. b. Group two: Law Enforcement. 2. Allies work on my issue: a. I would ask my pediatrician to sign a petition asking the county council to consider enacting an ordinance requiring children to wear helmets. I would also ask them to get other doctors involved. I think they would support this because they see many children come in with brain and head injuries. b. I could ask police officers to go to a county council meeting and talk about accidents they have personally responded to. 3. Opponents: a. British Medical Association (BMA). b. The BMA’s position is they are against mandatory bicycle helmet laws because they think it will reduce the amount of bike riders and it is good to exercise so they do not want that to happen. Part Four 1. Strategies: a. I am going to circulate a petition asking the county council to enact an ordinance to require children to wear bicycle helmets. b. I would make an appointment to talk to my council member, George H. Davis to lobby for his support of a law requiring children to wear bicycle helmets. 2. Strategy Effectiveness a. I think by going to places where I could see a lot of parents I could get a lot of signatures on my petition. I could get signatures in places such as high school football games, parades, bands concerts. I think if I get a lot of signatures this would be effective because the county council would recognize that a lot of people support this law. b. I think if I was to lobby Mr. Davis, I could convince him that we need this law. I could show him that many other states have laws like this. I could tell him I previously lived in Alabama, and we had a law requiring helmets. I could also tell him how my helmet saved my life. This personal story will have a big impact. Part Five 1. My Message a. My letter to the editor: I think bicycle helmets should be worn by all children 15 under because it will reduce the amount of injuries while riding a bike. I just moved to Lexington from Alabama. Alabama had a law requiring mandatory bicycle helmets for children. I have experienced firsthand how a helmet can save lives. I am now advocating a bicycle helmet law in my county. Thank you, for publishing my letter and I hope others who agree with me take action also. b. My PSA: Scene 1: A child is being taken out of an ambulance. Mother says, “He was riding his bike and hit a cement pole directly in the head. He was not wearing a helmet.” Scene 2: I am standing next to a bicycle with a helmet on. I say, “ I have also hit a cement pole, but I had a helmet on and walked away with a few bumps and bruises. We need mandatory bicycle helmet laws. Please support my campaign to pass this law.”
