South San Francisco, CA February 14, 2015 Submitted by SSFPD 
The South San Francisco Police Department continues its focus on bicycle & pedestrian safety in the month of February. Patrol, Traffic, and Special Operations officers are out on the streets all month looking for violations which are related to the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.
Some of the happy recipients with Officer Chetcuti
As part of this safety campaign, the South San Francisco Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) generously donated funding to the Police Department to purchase bicycle helmets. A total of 72 bike helmets were purchased with funds. On Friday the 13th, officers were out looking for children riding bicycles, scooters, or skateboards without an approved helmet. Whenever officers found a child without a helmet who didn’t have one and/or couldn’t afford one, Officers provided them with a free helmet, a smile, and a friendly warning instead of a citation.
Bicycle riders of all ages are strongly encouraged to wear a bicycle helmet. Children under the age of 18 are required by law to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, scooter, or skateboard on a public street, sidewalk, city park or in other public areas. Officers working the bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement detail on Friday February 13th handed out many other citations to motorists failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, for jaywalking pedestrians, for bicyclists running stop signs, and other safety related violations
Bicycle and pedestrian fatalities are rising in California as more people walk, use bicycles, and other non motorized means of transportation. Locally, the South San Francisco Police Department has investigated two fatal and 145 injury collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists during the past three (3) years. In 2012, California witnessed 612 pedestrian and 124 bicyclists killed that year while nationally 4,743 pedestrians and 726 bicyclists were killed.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Additional funds were provided by the South San Francisco Police Athletic League (P.A.L.).