Tag Archives: helmet laws

Missing the forest for the bicycle helmets

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Tom Fucoloro

This week, the authors of a disputed study promoting bicycle helmet laws with bike share systems penned an op-ed for Crosscut arguing that Seattle’s bike share companies should be forced to provide helmets with their bikes. Aside from the ick … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Times: King County’s adult helmet law could hold back Seattle’s new bike share system

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Tom Fucoloro

The debate about bike share in Seattle is contentious enough without bringing up one of the most divisive bike-related issues out there: Adult helmet laws. Though I understand that it may seem counter-intuitive at first, best practices from the the … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , , | 52 Comments

Bike share can flourish in Seattle

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Tom Fucoloro

With the City Council debating whether to buy out the 54-station Pronto Cycle Share system already in need of a buyout, the main question on people’s minds is: How do we know it will be successful going forward and worth … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments

Pronto Cycle Share starts charging day-pass users $2 to rent a helmet

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Tom Fucoloro

If you buy a 24-hour or three-day pass to use Pronto Cycle Share, you will now have to pay an extra $2 to check out a helmet. The bike share service activated the locks on their helmet bins today, which … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , | 48 Comments

Pronto’s helmet solution just might work, but can it keep up with growth?

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Tom Fucoloro

We’ve discussed the challenges of launching a bike share system in a city with a rare all-ages helmet law previously. In fact, we’ve done so at length several times. But while some other municipalities with helmet laws balk — Vancouver’s … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , , | 77 Comments

Pronto starts installing station docks, helmet vending machines won’t be ready for launch

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Tom Fucoloro

With just weeks to go before 500 Pronto Cycle Share bikes are scheduled to fill the streets of Seattle, workers will begin installing the 50 station docks this week. This is a big step for the bike share system, and … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , | 26 Comments

Thoughts on SPD bike enforcement: Focus on safety (also, King 5 gets bike laws wrong)

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Tom Fucoloro

King 5 has been pressing Seattle PD on the issue of enforcing traffic laws on people who bike and has a report out this morning saying that recent SPD bike law efforts are switching from giving out warnings to giving … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , | 71 Comments

How Pronto plans to make bike share work even with Seattle’s helmet law

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Tom Fucoloro

King County has a very rare all-ages helmet law, which will certainly complicate the launch and daily operations of Pronto Cycle Share in September. But fueled by a grant from Seattle Children’s, they are forging ahead with an ambitious and … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , | 74 Comments

Feds no longer back 1989 Seattle helmet effectiveness study – City should modify its helmet law before bike share launches

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Tom Fucoloro

After years of conflicting studies have thrown its results into question, both the Center for Disease Control and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will no longer promote the conclusion that bicycle helmets reduce head injury rates by 85 percent … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , | 112 Comments

Milton repeals helmet law + How bike share and helmet laws might coexist

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Tom Fucoloro

There are a handful of topics that online forums seem completely incapable of discussing rationally. Gun control, white male privilege and George Lucas are examples. In the biking world, the most irrational topic of conversation is probably helmets—specifically, all-ages mandatory … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , , | 62 Comments

With bike share on the horizon, it’s time to rethink King County’s adult helmet law

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Tom Fucoloro

With Portland officially passing funding for a bike sharing system, Seattle can no longer pretend bike sharing is something that only happens in other parts of the country and the world. Bike sharing is proven, effective and safe — so … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , | 57 Comments

Seattle University to launch bike share program, King County prepping system of its own

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Tom Fucoloro

Seattle University students, faculty and staff may soon be able to participate in a school bike share system, according to The Spectator. The Seattle University Bike Share (SUBS) does not yet have a launch date, but the Associated Students of … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

A post about …(gulp)… helmets

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Tom Fucoloro

So far, I have mostly avoided talking about helmet use and helmet laws on this blog. It’s just not an argument I find myself particularly passionate about. But there have been a lot of new, interesting helmet-related arguments flying around … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Bike sharing pilot could be headed to Ballard

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Tom Fucoloro

The Ballard News Tribune reports that a pilot bike sharing program could be headed to Ballard as early as November: Ballard resident Mark Hulscher and the Bike Share Group want to create the first Seattle bike share system that will … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged , , | 1 Comment