76°F
weather icon Clear

Mayor’s Corner: Helmets save lives

Emergency personnel in Clark County estimate they respond to four accidents each day involving bikes, e-bikes, or e-scooters. A few of these accidents have involved fatalities of minors — a grim reminder of the dangers of these devices when not used responsibly. Our goal as city leaders is to prevent tragedies from occurring. Any loss of life has a dramatic impact on families, loved ones, friends, as well as on the entire community.

When I see the news of a young life cut short, it’s my nature to ask what could have been done to protect our children. Boulder City’s new ordinance on bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters went into effect last month. Our ordinance is the strongest in Clark County, as it makes helmets mandatory for all minors on bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. There are fines of $150 and more for not wearing a helmet, and parents are responsible for paying the fines. (Editor’s note: The fine can go as high as $600 for third offenses.) While we realize these fines are substantial, our end goal is to teach parents and children about safety and to prevent tragedies.

Kids develop habits fast. Starting when they get their first set of wheels, parents can instill the importance of wearing a helmet and riding responsibly. While city leaders and first responders try to teach kids about safety, they are more likely to listen to their peers. Boulder City Media Coordinator Carly Poindexter, who is married to a Clark County School District (CCSD) teacher, knows this well. So she put together a great video to learn about the ordinance at www.bcnv.org/bikesafety. I encourage people of all ages to watch and share the video.

On Sept. 18, the day the ordinance went into effect, the CCSD “Safe Routes to School” program teamed up with BC fire and police departments and the city manager’s office to distribute more than 130 free helmets. That’s in addition to 150 given away this summer by BCFD. More free helmets will be available for those kids who need one at National Night Out on Tuesday, October 7 at Veterans Memorial Park from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. (or while supplies last).

While education, training, and consistent observance of safety rules are essential to avoiding accidents, we also know that helmets can save lives. We hope that awareness and education as well as the new Boulder City safety regulations will motivate children and parents in our community to invest the extra time, effort, and money into getting and (more importantly) wearing helmets.

MOST READ
LISTEN TO THE TOP FIVE HERE
THE LATEST
A year of hugs, healing and headway

Nov. 7 will mark a year since the ribbon cutting of the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Healing Center and shortly after, the opening of the since renamed school, Amy Ayoub Academy of Hope.

Some things are true … until they’re not

I don’t often write in this space about things that have already been in the paper. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, it would often mean writing about “old news.”

No dents on this Denton

Pardon the headline wordplay, but at age 100 (with 101 approaching next month) the celebrated Sara [Katherine Pittard] Denton has lived a life with few dents along the way.

Bursting our bewitched bubble

It’s that dreaded time of year again. Monstrous in magnitude. A mysterious ritual. Strange, scary, sinister, and spooky. Macabre and menacing. Dark and gloomy. Dastardly and disturbing. Gruesome and ghoulish. Frightful. Creepy. Petrifying. Even eerie. A wicked, morbid tradition that haunts our city annually.

Cheers to 40 years in the biz

I thought I’d talk a little about the newspaper business on the heels of the Review winning seven statewide awards the other night in Fallon.

AI is here. Just ask your neighbors

“I’ve done 10 albums in the past year,” my across-the-street neighbor, Dietmar, told me Sunday morning as we stood in the street between our two houses catching up. He added that his wife, Sarah, had put out two collections of songs in the same time period, adding, “You know it’s all AI, right?”

Astronaut lands in Nevada, so to speak

I wish to begin by noting that when it comes to politics, I am registered nonpartisan. So when writing about Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, I’m focusing (well, for the most part), on his role as a retired NASA astronaut, not as a politician.

The patriot way

Today is Patriot Day, a day most of us refer to as 9/11. In the U.S., Patriot Day occurs annually on Sept. 11 in memory of the victims who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.