First off, The Reflector editorial board fully supports any intention the city has of protecting the children of Starkville. However, the notion of enforcing the new helmet ordinance is not something we can get behind.
The Starkville Police Department has more pressing crimes to take care of than a 5-year-old riding down the street at three miles per hour on a bicycle without a helmet. Yes, the helmet ordinance was allegedly passed to protect Starkville’s youths’ heads. However, it is blatantly obvious that a police officer will cite a college student for not wearing a helmet before he or she tickets a child.
When a child is seen riding a bike without a helmet on, police officers are instructed to stop the child, take him or her home and proceed to write the parent a ticket. This would make sense if all children did exactly what their parents told them to. How many times did we young adults pedal away from our houses, helmet secured on, only to get out of our parents’ sight and take it off when we were kids? Are parents supposed to follow their kids down the street to make sure they keep their helmets on?
Not only is this illogical, but it may have a negative effect on how children view police officers. Most kids look up to these men and women, but if they are scared of getting a moving violation from the age of 5 and up, there will be even more animosity towards police officers as the children grow older. Furthermore, children may begin to view officers as the enemy rather than their protectors.
How sure are we that this ordinance has been put into place to secure the safety of Starkville’s children? It’s not surprising that Starkville’s Healthy Hometown Competition Committee is fully behind this law, which leads one to believe the ordinance is merely being passed in order for the city to receive some accolade.
What was the convincing argument? An alderman for the city made this statement at the hearing Tuesday: “Helmets promote safety. The one time I didn’t wear a helmet, I fell off my bike and skinned my knee.”
While the absurdity of this ordinance is largely the assumption that all children listen to what their parents tell them to do, it is also ridiculous that college students will be held to same standard. If a person is old enough to drive a car, enlist in the military and buy cigarettes, he or she should be able to determine whether or not to wear a helmet.
The city knows college students ride their bikes to and from campus, and they want to profit off it. They know we don’t want to have helmet hair, and that helmets are not required to ride on campus, so it’s almost a guarantee that they will make money off of us. Do you feel victimized yet?
Again, the editorial board fully supports any effort that is made to protect children. However, this is not the right way to go about bicycle safety improvement. If the city really wanted to make a difference, it could focus more on creating bike paths or sidewalks for children and adult bikers to ride on. The city could also crack down on drivers who use their cell phones while they’re behind the wheel, and could increase efforts to prevent and stop drunk driving. If the city is so worried about the safety of Starkville’s children they need to focus their attention on that issue, because a child isn’t safe standing in their own front yard if there are scores of drunk drivers terrorizing the streets of this town.
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Nora Donnelly, news editor Julia Pendley, assistant news editor Ben Leiker, sports editor Bob Carskadon, entertainment editor Hannah Rogers, photo editor Ariel Nachtigal, copy editor David Breland, managing editor Harry Nelson, assistant managing editor Matthew Witbeck and editor in chief April Windham.