Rockland Police Introduce “Operation Brain Freeze”

Positive reinforcement is a great tool and one that the Rockland Police Department has put into play recently according to a post on their Facebook page.

They have teamed up with several local businesses and rolled out a delicious, and important public safety campaign called “Operation Brain Freeze”.

It's all to promote compliance with helmet laws which are in place to prevent traumatic brain injuries.

Personally, I didn't even know that it was a law but in fact, the Maine Statute Title 29-A, 2323 says "A person under 16 years of age who is an operator or a passenger on a bicycle or an operator of roller skis on a public roadway or a public bikeway shall wear a helmet of good fit, positioned properly and fastened securely upon the head by helmet straps."

So how does this all tie together? Good question. Here's the answer: If a Police Officer is on patrol, and they notice a child riding a bicycle, skating on a skateboard, or rolling around on roller blades or scooter AND they are correctly wearing a safety helmet, the Police Officer will reward the child with a voucher for a Free ice cream cone from one of the local businesses participating; either the Rockland Dairy Queen or the Rockland McDonalds.

Due to safety reasons only officers in uniform and driving marked police cars or those on Police bike patrols will be participating.

This also allows an officer to stress how important it is to wear their helmets and answer any questions the kids may have.

In addition, thanks to the generous offer from the Aurora Masonic Lodge in Rockland, if a child needs assistance obtaining a helmet, they have agreed to donate helmets for those in need.

It really does take a community to take care of each other and it's heart warming to know we have so many like minded communities around Maine.

And kudos to the Rockland Police Department for putting together "Operation Brain Freeze"

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