Breakstone, White & Gluck Makes Kids’ Bicycle Helmet Donations in Quincy, Framingham and Westborough

Breakstone, White & Gluck is committed to protecting children on bicycles from serious head injuries. For the fifth year, our law firm will donate bicycle helmets to children in the Boston area as part of our Project KidSafe campaign. Once again, we are pleased to partner up with local police departments, schools, bicycle committees and community organizations to distribute the helmets.

Over the past four years, Breakstone, White & Gluck has donated more than 10,000 bicycle helmets to children. We are excited about the year ahead and invite you to follow along:  www.facebook.com/bwglaw.


Over the weekend, Breakstone, White & Gluck donated more than 350 bicycle helmets to three organizations:

Boston attorney David W. White with Quincy Police Community Policing Unit

Quincy Police Department. Attorney David W. White delivered 100 bicycle helmets to the Quincy Police Department on Friday afternoon. He was greeted by the Community Policing Unit, including: Officer White, Lieutenant Bina, and Officer Miller (shown in this photo with Attorney White. Photo courtesy of Quincy Police).

On Saturday, Quincy police officers gave the helmets away and spoke to families about bicycle safety at the Healthy Kids Day event at the South Shore YMCA. Read the Quincy police department’s announcement on our donation and bicycle safety tips.

Framingham Earth Day. We partnered up with the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Framingham Police Department for the fourth year, fitting children for helmets at the annual Framingham Earth Day celebration. The community welcomed us back as we fit 140 helmets and answered bicycle safety questions from families. The donation was coordinated by Bill Hanson, chair of the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. We are lucky to have Bill’s help; he has coordinated the donation for the past four years. Bill was also out fitting helmets for the kids, along with Attorney David W. White of Breakstone, White & Gluck and Framingham Police Officer Garrett Coffin.

Healthy Kids Day. For the fourth year, we donated more than 100 bicycle helmets for the Healthy Kids event at the Boroughs Family Branch of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts. The event was held on Saturday. The donation was coordinated by Bruce Tretter of the Westborough Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, who was also on hand to fit helmets for the kids (he is shown in the photo below). Bruce has coordinated this donation for the past four years and we appreciate his efforts.

On June 10th, Attorney David W. White will join Bruce and the Westborough Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee at Spring Festival. This event is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Westborough.

Healthy Kids event in Westborough, Mass. 2017

Highlights from our 2017 Project KidSafe campaign:

-Breakstone, White & Gluck will partner with more than 30 community partners this year, including police departments, bicycle committees, schools and community organizations.

-We will donate 1,500 helmets within the City of Boston, including 600 helmets to the City of Boston. The Boston Police Department and Boston Bikes’ Roll It Forward initiative will receive helmets.

-Partner organizations include 10 police departments, including Boston, Cambridge, Quincy, Everett, Randolph. Dedham, Norwood, Waltham, Framingham and Malden.

-Safe Routes to School in Massachusetts will receive 400 helmets for children in need who participate in its bicycle safety programming.

-We will partner up with CYCLE Kids and Somerville Public Schools again in June. Fifth-graders who finished the CYCLE Kids bicycle safety program will receive a brand-new helmet for safe summer riding.

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Study: Pedestrian Fatalities Are Rising in Massachusetts, Across U.S.

Walking, even in the crosswalk, is becoming more dangerous.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is projecting a 10 percent increase in pedestrian fatalities in traffic crashes across the U.S. last year. This marks the largest increase in four decades, since data was first collected.

The official tally shows an estimated 2,368 pedestrians were killed between January and June of 2015. Researchers expect annual figures to reach the 10 percent mark.

In Massachusetts, 34 pedestrians were killed during the first half of 2015, up 26 percent from 27 fatalities in 2014.

Already in 2016, there have been numerous pedestrian fatalities. WalkBoston, a non-profit advocacy group, recently reported 11 people were killed while walking in Massachusetts in January alone. The accidents were reported in South Hadley, Malden, South Yarmouth, Worcester, Roslindale, Dorchester, Reading, Framingham, South Boston, Quincy and other communities.

In at least four cases, pedestrians were tragically killed while walking in a crosswalk, where they should have special protection under Massachusetts law.

“The law is clear. Pedestrians have the right of way when crossing the street in a crosswalk or at an intersection with the “Walk” signal,” said Attorney Ronald E. Gluck, who has represented victims of pedestrian accidents in Boston for 35 years.

Gluck added, “Drivers who disobey this law can expect to face stiff consequences. They can expect to be charged criminally, especially if there is injury or death. But a police officer can charge any driver who violates the law, even if there is no injury. They can also expect to face consequences in a civil case brought by the injured pedestrian or the family of a pedestrian who was killed.

About Our Experience
gluck_150.jpgAttorney Ronald E. Gluck recently negotiated a $1.25 million settlement for the family of a woman who was hit and killed in a crosswalk in Massachusetts. Read the case report here. To learn more about the law firm, visit our website.

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Breakstone, White & Gluck Participates in Framingham Earth Day, Donates 150 Bicycle Helmets to Children

Our attorneys partnered with the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to bring helmets to the community.

framingham-earth-day-500.jpg
Photo from left to right: Officer Garret Coffin, Det. David Loureiro, attorney David White of Breakstone, White & Gluck, and Ed Kross, member of the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Crowds packed the Framingham High School gym for the fourth annual Framingham Earth Day Festival on Saturday. There were 70 vendors offering products and services related to promoting an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Breakstone, White & Gluck participated by donating 150 bike helmets to help children ride safely.

Breakstone, White & Gluck worked with the Framingham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to coordinate the donation. Attorney David White participated in the event, along with Bill Hanson, chair of the advisory committee and committee members Ed Kross, Stacy Lee and Ben Gustafson. Police Officer Garret Coffin and Detective David Loureiro of the Framingham Police Department also helped distribute the helmets.

Breakstone, White & Gluck, a Boston personal injury law firm, is donating bike helmets to children through a number of cycling organizations this year. This is the second year we have made these donations. Our goal is to provide local children access to bike helmets which properly fit to reduce the risk of head injuries.

Of all cyclists, children are most at risk for injury. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year, children ages 5-14 and young adults ages 15-24 have the highest rates of non-fatal bicycle related injuries. They account for 60 percent of all bike-related injuries seen in U.S. hospital emergency rooms.

We offer several cycling safety resources on our website. Visit www.bwglaw.com/project-kidsafe/ for information on a cyclist’s rights and responsibilities under Massachusetts law.

We have also written an article about how cyclists can protect themselves by purchasing extra coverage on their car insurance policy.