Well, the first stop to answering that question should be this website: http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/cple/cpc/ccpcp.cfm (Where you will find, at the bottom of the page, that the “City” of Christiansburg … hmmm…. is one of 14 such certified jurisdictions within the State of Virginia. The website also notes that the “City of Christiansburg’s application is in progress at this time. The webpage was last reviewed on June 14, 2010.) Read the rest of this entry »
Well, you can come by the Cambria Toy Station this Saturday or Sunday (Saturday April 25, 11 AM to 6 PM or Sunday April 26, 1 PM to 5 PM), register your/your child’s bike and get a free child’s bicycle helmet (while they last). You can also go by the Police Department to do the same. (No purchase required.)
Kudos to Mike Barber for bring this issue before town council.
Recent research shows that head injuries (even for those wearing bicycle helmets) has increased by 10 percent since 1991. Perhaps this is due to the fact that more and more people are using this form of transportation.
Does this mean that helmets do not help? ABSOLUTELY NOT! That same article shows that even if head injuries occur, brain injuries are reduced by as much as 88%. So for an ‘insurance’ of less that $10 (in many stores) you may not be able to prevent an accident, but you can significantly reduce the possibility that your child or you would sustain a significant head injury.
Good bicycle safety is equally important. Follow the rules, ride with courtesy and respect, watch out for the other driver/rider, all of these are just good common sense.
Spring is definitely in the air. Traffic has become more and more of an issue in Christiansburg, and more people are using bicycles. Now is the time to take that extra step in safety by obtaining a bicycle helmet for you and/or your child. That will be particularly true if Christiansburg does what the state allows and makes it mandatory for all bicycle riders under the age of 14 to use a bicycle helmet.
If you don’t feel this is important, simply stop any police officer, nurse, doctor, psychologist, physical therapist, speech therapist, etc. Ask that person if they have ever dealt with someone who has had a head injury while riding their bicycle. Then ask if they recommend wearing a helmet.
I hope that when this ordinance comes before town council that every health care professional and bicyclist group in the region comes to that meeting and lends support to an ordinance that could save lives.
If you are the driver of a vehicle, it could be you that accidentally hits a person of any age who is riding a bicycle. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that people were wearing helmets and that by doing so, there would be far less damage done to the person. After all, it is not just the bicycle rider who has to live with the results of an accident.
Come on down and meet officers from the Christiansburg Police Dept. who will be present to help with bicycle registration and fingerprinting of children. I hear some special guests might be present and there are some bicycle helmets to be given away. I’ve also heard some irritating little old lady may be present with her video recorder to take some footage to post online.
You can bring your bicycle if you want help with putting the stickers on, or you can just pick up the forms and take them with you to fill our later. You can also pick up some brochures on bicycle safety. With the economy the way it is, count on seeing more and more people on bicycles this spring! Your participation in these events (along with a bit of writing and video) will help to raise awareness of drivers to be alert for those people on bicycles.
Child or adult, citizen or from neighboring jurisdictions, just come on out and let our police officers know you appreciate their work! Hope to see you there!
By Carol Lindstrom On March 20 at 5:00 PM
I’ll probably be one of those who end up with a ticket as I’m driving one day and distracted by thoughts of something like an issue I want to blog about or something that needs to be updated on the webpage, BUT, I loved spotting the Christiansburg Police Officer on foot with a hand-held radar gun out on Depot Street near Kroger today. His bicycle and helmet were a short distance away.
This is such a wonderful contribution to safety and well-being of our citizens. (I’ll probably grumble on the day when I am the one caught exceeding one of those speed limits, but it will be grumbling at my own stupidity. After all, if I am so distracted that I don’t notice a speed limit sign, isn’t it possible that I could be distracted enough to miss seeing another vehicle, a child on a bike, or someone’s beloved pet that slipped away when the door opened?
I think this program clearly shows that Christiansburg Police Department takes citizen concerns very seriously, and takes citizen safety even more seriously. Great job Christiansburg Police Department.
Don’t forget that you can register your bicycle with the police department, thus making it more likely that your bicycle can be returned to you if it is stolen. You can pick up the form and stickers at the Police Department, attach the sticker, fill in the form, and return the form to the police department. You can also pickup and drop off these forms at the old Depot in Cambria, just check with me at the Cambria Toy Station.
A word of note: stickers are being used instead of engraving because if engraving/etching is used and a theft occurs, it is likely that a grinder will be applied to remove the registration information. This causes a place for rust to grow and a potential weak spot in the metal. The sticker helps but what really makes identification possible is your accurate description of the bicycle. Unless someone is out there taking the time to specifically identify and take only 24″ boys bikes, that are blue in color with black trim, a ding mark on the right pedal…etc….etc. The descriptions provided by you, combined with your reports of loss of the bicycle, and the description of the property recovered, will increase the odds of your bicycle being returned greatly. This is a free service provided by our Police Department, and I hope that all of you bicycle riders will participate.
By Carol Lindstrom On March 9 at 9:01 PM
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