*** New state motorized scooter law welcomed ***

Weymouth, MA (AP) -- 12/10/2004
You need to think again if a motorized
scooter is on your child's Christmas list.

A new state law makes it illegal for anyone without
a valid driver's license or learner's permit to drive
motorized scooters or a motorized bicycle.

Violators can be subject to fines and can even be arrested.

A good item, however, to add to a child's list is a bicycle helmet.

Helmets are now required for anyone on a motorized scooter
or bicycle, and anyone 16 or under on a regular bicycle, in-line
skates, scooter, or skateboard.

The bicycle helmet law used to include anyone 12 or under.

Police are welcoming the new laws because
they will help with what is a public safety issue.

Officers point out that serious injury is far more likely if a
child falls while biking or "roller-blading" and does not
have a helmet.

Weymouth Police Sergeant John Concannon said that
motorized scooters were a major cause of complaints.

"We got a tremendous amount of complaints, especially
at night," Concannon said. "Kids were running up and
down streets at around 25 mph and no head gear,
weaving in and out of cars."

"This will clearly have an impact on public safety," he said.
"It will help to cut back on the number of serious injuries,
because these [scooters] can be very, very dangerous."

The feeling is mutual in other parts of the South Shore.

"It's critical that parents model good safety behavior,"
Cohasset Police Chief James Hussey said. "When many
of us were young, helmets we not a part of the mix, but
the facts are that use of a helmet reduces the potential of
a life-threatening or lifelong injury from a fall or accident."

Braintree Deputy Police Chief Kevin McHugh said, "I couldn't
agree more with Chief Hussey. From my individual standpoint,
I see this more than most department heads because I investigate
the serious and fatal accidents. I see the effects on children who
weren't wearing a helmet, whether they were riding a bicycle or
a motorized scooter."

McHugh mentioned a specific example.

"We recently had a case where a child was involved in an
accident with a moor vehicle," he said. "The reason why he
was hospitalized was that he hit his head after falling following
a very minor collision with the car beside him. Had he been
wearing a helmet, his injuries would have been much less severe."

Police are pleased to have some enforcement powers over
motorized scooters, which have become a magnet for a lot
of youngsters who are too young to drive. Motorized scooters
are the source of many complaints.

Scooters have handlebars and are usually propelled by
one foot. The motorized variety are either electric or gas
powered and don't need human propulsion.

Police will work with the parents of those found in violation
of the helmet and motorized scooter/bike laws. The scooter
law also includes not operating a motorized bike or scooter
after dark and observing a 25 MPH speed limit.

Hussey said that when police find children riding bicycles,
in-line skates, or skateboards without helmets, they talk to
the child's parents to make sure that they are knowledgeable
about the law.

"We want to make sure parents know
that helmets are mandatory," Hussey said.

Cohasset Safety Officer Christy Tarantino said that the
police department has roughly 50 helmets in various sizes
for those who may not to be able to afford to purchase
one. They are available on a firs come, first served basis.

Rosalie Berquist, prevention program director for the
Massachusetts Brain Injury Association, welcomes the
extension of the helmet law to age 17.

However, adults are also vulnerable to
brain injury from a fall without a helmet.

"So many people think that helmets are just for kids,"
she said. "I always point out that the majority of people
killed in bicycle crashes are adults.

"This has to do with the laws of science. Adults are higher
from the ground and therefore have a greater distance to fall.
They weigh more than kids and are probably riding faster."

According to Berquist, few people understand the
devastating consequences of traumatic brain injury
to the survivors.

"It must be remembered that the whole family is impacted
when one of their members is injured," she said.

Why wear a bicycle helmet:
*Helmets can prevent 75 percent of bicycle fatalities among children

*Up to 88 percent of critical head and brain injuries can be
prevented through use of a bicycle helmet

*Universal bicycle helmet use by children 4 to 15 can prevent
up to 45,000 head injuries and 55,000 scalp and face injuries
annually.

*Up to $142 million could be saved each year in direct and indirect
health care costs if 85 percent of all child bicyclists wore helmets for

one year

Source: ThinkFirst, http://www.thinkfirst.org

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