A Republican state senator is pushing for a law requiring that all youth under the age of 16 wear a bike helmet.
Such a law will take some convincing in the General Assembly. Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow reports.
Republican Senator Shannon Jones of southwest Ohio says a large number of kids who go to the emergency room after a bicycle crash are not wearing a helmet.
Melissa Wervey Arnold with the American Academy of Pediatrics shared the story of a woman who lost her son to a bike crash. The mother believes creating a law gives parents more authority.
“‘I wish I could have said to my son Bailey—you have to wear a helmet cause it is the law. It would’ve saved my son’s life and the lives of many others and it still can,’” said Wervey Arnold.
Jones recognizes the possible pushback from Republicans in the Senate. She plans to rely on the facts and science behind helmet safety to make her point, such as when Ohio passed booster seat laws a couple of years ago.