News

New York City’s Citi Bike Riders Take Safety Lightly, According to William Paterson University Professor

-- New study reveals 90 percent of Citi Bike riders don’t wear helmets

A shocking number of New York City Citi Bike cyclists ride helmet-less, according to a new study by William Paterson University public health professor Dr. Corey Basch. Basch and her students studied the 25 busiest bicycle docks in the city to find that of the nearly 5,000 cyclists observed, a mere 11 percent of users were wearing helmets. 

Basch said, “CitiBike is a great program that can contribute to increased physical activity and at the same time help reduce carbon emissions. However, given that such a high proportion of riders do not use helmets while riding in busy urban streets, education is needed to help people make informed decisions about reducing their risk of head injuries by wearing a helmet while cycling.”

Citi Bike, New York City’s bike-sharing system, was launched in 2013 and is the fastest growing bicycle sharing program in the country. The program features more than 330 docking stations across Manhattan and Brooklyn and has nearly 100,000 members.  Citi Bike encourages helmet use, but the final decision rests in the hands of the rider.

The study, “Public Bike Sharing in New York City: Helmet Use Behavior Patterns at 25 Citi Bike Stations,” was recently published in The Journal of Community Health.

The study is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25388627.