On the Front Lines of Building the Nanny State
Paula Brown is on the front lines of building the nanny state. Her son and his friend built a bicycle ramp out of rocks and old boards in the street in front of Ms. Brown's house. The youthful construction couldn't stand the stresses involved, and the boy's friend suffered a nasty crash, sending him to the hospital with multiple broken bones. Ms. Brown, who was present in the house as the boys built their jury-rigged Evil Knievel ramp, believes that the government needs to be doing more:
"We've got good drinking and driving laws here, but why no helmet laws?" asked Paula Brown, Cam's mother.
The Browns moved to Scottsdale in August from Vancouver, where helmets are required for bikes, skateboards and scooters.
"We make our kids wear helmets for anything on wheels," Brown said.
Tammy Blackwell, Tristan's mother, also would support a helmet law
for kids. "My husband and I went out and bought helmets for ourselves
because of this."...She complains that, since Scottsdale doesn't have a rule, peer-group pressure is more compelling to kids than common sense.
Evidently the city's modest signs recommending helmet use and the
more existential, "Skate at Your Own Risk" aren't making a dent.
The real logic gap in this story is that the kid who was hurt was wearing a bike helmet at the time. So the severe injuries involved had nothing to do with helmet wearing, and everything to do with the lack of adult supervision by Ms. Brown.
