Bike sharing in Pittsburgh. What do you think?

[gg]

Originally Posted by Katiana

It is nuts to ride a bike without a helmet. With all the emphasis on concussions these days, that would seem obvious (to me). It's not just football players who get head injuries. Bike helmets prevent a huge number of head injuries. Go take a tour of a local rehab hospital if you want to see what a head injured person looks like.

Maybe you should wear a helmet while walking or in the shower. Lots of injuries in the tub you know. I don't wear a helmet. I personally think the whole thing is silly. I think I will stick to the European style and ride smart, not wearing some silly thing that would probably do about nothing against all the empty pickups around here.

Also, did you know that over 50% of head injuries are in car accidents? Why are car drivers not wearing helmets? Now that is dumb.

51% - Motor Vehicle Accidents
21% - Falls
12% - Assaults and Violence
10% - Sports and Recreation
6% - Other

[Hopes]

I hope they provide enough bike stations for where people really want to go. That's the point of a bike sharing system is not having to return to the exact place of origin---so you can use it to actually get places, not just for leisure.

[Katarina Witt]

Statistics about bicycle injuries, including helmet use:

Bicycles | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Bicycle helmets are 85- to 88-percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries, making the use of helmets the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes. n Despite the fact that nearly 70 percent of all fatal bicycle crashes involve head injuries, only about 20 to 25 percent of all bicyclists wear bicycle helmets. . . . In 2006, the average age of bicyclists killed in motor vehicle crashes was 41, and the average age of those injured was 30.n In 2006, 88 percent of bicyclists killed and 82 percent of those injured were males.