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Free-Floating Bikeshare and Helmet Use in Seattle, WA

Journal of Community Health volume 44, pages 577–579 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Wearing a helmet when bicycling prevents traumatic brain injury in the event of a crash. Most cyclists nationwide use helmets when riding. However, the growth of free-floating bike sharing systems, which offer short-term access to bicycles but not helmets, may erode helmet-wearing norms among cyclists. We counted cyclists over several hours at four locations in Seattle, WA. We categorized each rider according to whether he or she was wearing a helmet and to whether or not he or she was riding a bike share bike. Whereas 91% of riders of private bikes wore helmets, only 20% of bike share riders wore helmets. Moreover, in locations where a greater proportion of riders were on bikes hare bikes, fewer riders of private bicycles wore helmets (r = − 0.96, p = 0.04). The impact of bike sharing programs on helmet wearing norms among private bike riders warrants further exploration.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Smita Stepanova-Pednekar, Kelsie Clebowski, and the participants in the INSIGHT high school summer intern program at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center. Fred Rivara, Monica Vavilala, Jana Hirsch, and Tony Gomez provided comments on a version of this work.

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shiver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (T32HD057822) and a research grant from the Better Bike Share Partnership.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington, 401 Broadway, 4th Floor, Seattle, WA, 98122, USA

    Stephen J. Mooney, Bella Lee & Allyson W. O’Connor

  2. Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    Stephen J. Mooney

  3. Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    Allyson W. O’Connor

Authors
  1. Stephen J. Mooney
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  2. Bella Lee
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  3. Allyson W. O’Connor
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Correspondence to Stephen J. Mooney.

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Mooney, S.J., Lee, B. & O’Connor, A.W. Free-Floating Bikeshare and Helmet Use in Seattle, WA. J Community Health 44, 577–579 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-00599-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-00599-1

Keywords

  • Helmet
  • Injury prevention
  • Bicycling
  • Free-floating bike share