Ohio bills propose helmet requirement

Helmets do save lives, say two local bicycle shop
owners.

By ASHLEY TATE

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Bills introduced in both chambers at the Statehouse would require youngsters to wear bicycle helmets or face citations and potential fines.

And one local bicycle shop owner says he supports the proposed legislation.

Paul Frankford, president of Frankford Bicycle Inc. in Girard, knows firsthand the importance of wearing a helmet.

Frankford said he was recently involved in an accident with another bicyclist where he received injuries to his shoulder and other places but didn’t injure his head because of the helmet.

He said the helmet broke because of the impact, and ever since then, he encourages bicycle riders to wear helmets.

“We recommend helmets. It doesn’t matter how old [a person is] or what type of cycling. We promote helmet safety,” he said.

If the bill were passed, Frankford said that would be fantastic because he is a strong helmet advocate and “you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”

“A helmet is the single most effective safety device for reducing the severity of head injuries and the likelihood of death following a bicycle crash,” said Rep. Michael Skindell, a Democrat from Lakewood. “A $10 to $35 helmet can be the difference between life and death.”

Skindell is the primary sponsor of House Bill 387, dubbed Ohio’s Child Helmet Safety Act. Sen. Tom Roberts, a Democrat from Trotwood, earlier sponsored a comparable bill in the Senate.

The proposed legislation, presented to the House’s Infrastructure, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs Committee earlier this week, would require anyone younger than 18 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle.

Those caught without one would receive a citation and could be fined $25, the proceeds from which would go into a fund to purchase helmets for the needy.

A number of Ohio communities already have adopted ordinances requiring bike helmet use, including Akron, Lakewood and Marietta, according to Skindell’s testimony.

The lawmaker knows firsthand the value of helmet use. In August, he struck a turning vehicle on his own bicycle and landed head first on the pavement.

“If I had not been wearing a helmet, my injuries certainly would have been catastrophic, if not fatal,” Skindell said.

Ron Glove, owner of Cycle Sales in Boardman, said 85 percent of all head injuries are preventable, and they always encourage people to buy helmets.

“I don’t know anybody who can get around not thinking or using their brain for control,” Glove said.

Glove also was involved in a bicycling accident. He said he didn’t sustain any injuries but his helmet cracked from the impact.

The speed of a bike is not as fast as a motorcycle but the impact can be just as bad, Glove said.

Helmet prices range from $25 to more than $200 at Glove’s shop, but Glove said the majority of helmets they sell are between $40 and $70.

Helmets at Frankford’s shop start at $30 and go up to $300, Frankford said.

With the help of technology, helmets aren’t what they used to be, Frankford said. They aren’t heavy and combatlike. They are lighter and more comfortable.

The helmets also are better ventilated, and once people try them on to see how comfortable they are, Frankford said, they are more apt to wear them.

The left wall of his store easily holds 80 to 90 helmets of various colors and styles to choose from, he said.

Even though some people may feel the proposed bill is a good idea, one mother said she doesn’t believe it should be the state’s decision to require people 18 and younger to wear helmets while riding bicycles.

Youngstown resident Laura Neely said even though her 8-year-old daughter, Nadia, wears a helmet, the decision for children to wear helmets should be left up to the parents.

Neely said if the bill were passed, “it would bother me.”

She said Nadia received her helmet at a parent fair in Boardman, where Nadia watched a video on the importance of wearing helmets.

XCONTRIBUTOR: Marc Kovac, Vindicator correspondent in Columbus