Bicycle Friendly Communities

Gilbert, AZ | Bronze Level

Enforcement: Gilbert is partnering with a local Ben & Jerry’s store to offer certificates good for free ice cream to children who wear their helmets while bicycling. When firefighters spot helmet-wearing children, they distribute the certificates and talk to the children about the importance of bicycle safety. The campaign has been promoted in the local media. More than 3,400 students entered the contest in 2000 and each year the number increases. The winner and his/her classmates are given free tickets to a Diamondbacks game, and during an on-field ceremony prior to the game, one of the Diamondback ballplayers presents the winning student with the Helmet Coloring Contest trophy. The Maricopa County SAFE KIDS Coalition also sponsored the “Helmet Your Brain—Avoid the Pain” program, where a free educational kit is distributed to teachers, youth leaders, health professionals, parents and children between the ages of 8 and 12. The kit includes lesson plans with activities, models of the skull and brain, and video tapes from SAFE KIDS and Bill Nye, the Science Guy.