THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120391
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: 49 lines
When Michael Willyard took a tumble from his bike, his helmet may have prevented severe injury.
The 12-year-old boy's accident also may make bicycling a lot safer for other Newport News children.
Michael wrote a letter to the mayor in July asking for a law requiring children on bicycles to wear helmets.
``I was wondering why almost every city has a law requiring the wearing of bicycle helmets and Newport News does not,'' Michael wrote to Mayor Joe Frank. ``I think this should be a law because if somebody had an accident they would be less likely to be injured if they were wearing a helmet.''
Frank thought Michael had a good idea.
The City Council passed a regulation Tuesday requiring all children 14 or younger to wear a helmet while riding a bike.
A couple of councilmen said they were worried that a statute intended for safety could wind up punishing poor children who can't afford helmets.
To address that issue, Frank suggested that the new rule not go into effect until Jan. 1 - after Christmas and sufficiently distant to give parents a chance to buy a helmet.
Frank also asked the city staff to think up ways to help needy children get helmets.
``This is a safety issue, not a penalty,'' the mayor said.
The regulation includes a $25 fine for those caught without helmets. First-time violators won't have to pay, and everyone else can dodge the penalty if they buy a helmet before payment is due.
Michael, a Boy Scout, wrote the letter to get his Citizenship in the Community merit badge, which requires writing a public official to ask about a public problem.
He earned his badge three weeks ago and got a personal invitation from the mayor to come and watch the vote.
The memory of the fall just a few weeks before he wrote the letter is still fresh in his mind.
``I fell and hit the corner of my head right near my ear, and my helmet has a big dent in it,'' he said. ``If I wouldn't have been wearing my helmet, I probably would have been dead.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boy Scout Michael Willyard, 12, of Newport News urged the mayor to
pass a law on bicycle helmets after his helmet saved him.
KEYWORDS: HELMET LAW NEWPORT NEWS CITY COUNCIL by CNB