Anyone riding a bike through campus with their hair blowing in the wind can pick up a free helmet from University Police.
Cyclists can stop by the UPD Community Services Division office, at 1515 Museum Road, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to get a free helmet, said UPD Sgt. Tim Peck.
Even though bicycle crashes are not common at UF, people can suffer serious head trauma when they do occur, Peck said. The department began the initiative a couple years ago and continuously restocks helmets. The latest restock was Nov. 19.
Peck said he remembers when a young man crashed while riding his bike and woke up in UF Health Shands Hospital with no recollection of what happened. He was not wearing a helmet.
“We can fix anything — six broken bones, no problem,” Peck said. “But we can’t fix the brain.”
The helmets are funded by a grant from the Florida Pedestrian and Bicycling Safety Resource Center, Peck said.
Samantha Cassino, a 19-year-old UF sustainability studies sophomore, picked up a helmet Tuesday after leaving her biology class.
Helmet prices have stopped Cassino back from buying one, so she has been riding to class without one since her freshman year, she said.
“I am really grateful that UFPD is doing this because it can literally save lives,” Cassino said.
