OPD helmet program going strong

Wear your helmet, earn an ice cream!

That is the simple program Osburn Police Chief Darell Braaten started four years ago to reward Osburn kids for being safe on their bicycles.

On the surface, this sounds like a simple concept that rewards good behavior and teach kids to welcome the sight of a police officer.

Although all of that is true, Chief Braaten had his own personal reasons for starting the program

“The reason I started the Bicycle helmet program in Osburn is from a personal experience from about 19 years ago,” Braaten explained.

“My son, who was on his maiden voyage of riding his bicycle, without training wheels, crashed into another bike rider. My son was knocked off if his bicycle and landed hard on concrete, hitting his head.”

Fortunately for his son, he was wearing a helmet.

“The helmet was split across the top from landing on the concrete, Braaten added.

As a precaution, Braaten and his wife Becki took him to the hospital to have him checked.

During the visit to the hospital, the doctor looked at the helmet and how it was split.

The doctor explained that, in his opinion, his son’s helmet is what saved him from severe traumatic injury to his brain or death from the crash.

“It was at that time, I started promoting bicycle helmets,” Braaten said.

Over the years, he would talk to children about wearing a helmet while riding their bikes, skate boards, etc., and stress their importance.

Then, four years ago, he noticed several of the children in Osburn riding without helmets.

This is when he realized that “just talking to them did not seem to be making a difference in them wearing their helmet or not.”

Braaten came up with the idea of giving away ice cream for wearing a helmet.

Since the program has been going on, Bratten says that he has seen an increase in children wearing their helmets.

“In fact, there has been several occasions where kids have sought me out to show me they were riding with their helmet in order to get a free ice cream.”

“I would like to think that starting this program has increased helmet use and has saved some injuries to our youth in Osburn,” he added.

Braaten would like to thank Steins Family Foods for sponsoring this program and providing the ice cream to the kids.

So Osburn kids- make sure you wear your bucket and you could be seeing some free treats!