Bird Offers Helmet Selfie; Incentivizes Riders to Wear Helmets

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bird today announced its Helmet Selfie product. Designed to help cities increase helmet usage and improve the safety of riders, Helmet Selfie is available now and offers riders incentives to wear a helmet while riding a Bird. The company also announced it will launch Bird Safety Marketplace where riders can go to find a selection of curated products designed to help vulnerable road users better protect themselves from threats posed by cars and poor or outdated infrastructure which plague many communities today. 

"Bird and the cities in which we operate share a number of common goals, including but not limited to improving the safety of all road users," said Paul Steely White, Director of Safety Policy & Advocacy at Bird. "Our new Helmet Selfie product and Safety Marketplace are a direct outcome of ongoing conversations we've had with our partner cities, safety experts from leading academic and research institutions, as well as leading innovators in the helmet and safety protection industries. While the most effective way to reduce safety incidents is to improve infrastructure, we also want to help improve adoption around helmet usage to reduce injury severity in the event of an incident."

Partnering with Cities to Increase Helmet Adoption
Bird is proud to have led the industry in providing free access to helmets - having given away nearly 75,000 in the last 18 months - but unfortunately access did not result in increased helmet adoption. For example, a study looking at shared e-scooter related injuries from Austin Public Health, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found only one of 190 injured scooter riders was wearing a helmet. To help eliminate preventable injuries, and increase usage, we are further incentivizing riders with Helmet Selfie to better protect themselves from the dangers posed by cars and poor or aging infrastructure. Building on Bird's unrelenting commitment to safety, Helmet Selfie utilizes computer vision technology to help cities measurably increase helmet usage globally by pairing tech innovation with rider-centric incentives.

How Helmet Selfie Works
At the end of each trip, riders are asked to take a selfie. Riders who demonstrate helmet usage will receive incentives such as future ride credits. Riders can also share their selfie via social media and include #BirdHelmetSelfie to help promote broader adoption and use of helmets. Cities interested in implementing Helmet Selfie in their communities should email [email protected].

Giving Riders Choice and Access to Leading Road Safety Technologies
Bird prioritizes safety and we want the broader community to benefit from insights and learnings gleaned from two years of operation. As a result, Bird is creating the global Safety Marketplace, a one-stop shop where riders can explore and find just the right helmet or other road safety products and accessories. Providers of road safety products, including helmets and devices to increase rider conspicuity, are invited to submit a proposal to offer their product in the marketplace. Interested parties are encouraged to email [email protected] for more information and a copy of the RFP.

SOURCE Bird