North Bay police rewarding youth who understand bicycle safety with treat coupons

North Bay police officers will be handing out coupons to young cyclists this summer for understanding bicycle safety.

Lucy Courville, 9, loves riding her bike. She knows it only takes a few seconds to clip up her helmet and adjust it on her head before pedalling off.

“Wherever I go, I wear a helmet,” she said. “Even if it’s a super safe place, I wear my helmet then, too.”

She said she wants to set an example for other cyclists her age.

“There’s nothing wrong with cyclist education campaigns,” said Connie Hergott, North Bay Mountain Bike Association’s program director.

Physicians know that head injuries are serious. By law, cyclists under the age of 18 must wear an approved helmet. For children 16 and under, a parent or guardian must make sure they wear them.

Police acknowledge that they continue to see young cyclists riding without a helmet on.

“It makes me sad,” Hergott said.

“I just (hope) that more people will be aware of how quickly a brain injury can happen by not wearing a helmet.”

To encourage youth who love to ride their bikes this summer to wear one, police are offering a sweet deal. If an officer sees a child properly wearing a helmet, they may stop and give them a coupon for free ice cream, french fries or a drink from McDonald’s locations in North Bay or in Sturgeon Falls.

“We want kids to be safe -- that’s the ultimate message here,” said Const. Merv Shantz.

The initiative builds on last summer’s police bike rodeo that taught several dozen young cyclists about the rules of the road and general bike safety.

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“Parents may forget to make sure their kids have helmets on and we want to bring that back to the forefront,” said Shantz.

“It’s up to parents to make sure their kids are safe.”

At the same time, police are encouraging parents to make sure their kids’ bikes have working brakes, they know the hand signals and remind everyone, drivers and cyclists to share the road.