Cycling in New York City's streets can be a harrowing process. In 2015, 14 cyclists died in the city — a fact that's memorialized by white painted bicycles in locations where fatal accidents occurred.
Yet Citi Bike, the bike-share program that allows tourists and locals to rent bikes for short periods of time, boasts zero deaths in the three years since it launched.
Here's why riders have remained so safe, according to researchers and transportation officials.
The bikes are slow.
Citi Bikes are hefty and designed to move at moderate speeds. (As a person who passes more than a few of them every time I ride my bike, I'm putting this lightly.)
Todd Schneider, an engineer at Genius, analyzed 22 million Citi Bike rides and found that average speeds for Citi Bikes was about 8.3 miles per hour. The average speed on a regular bike is 11 to 12 miles per hour, observations of bike lanes in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Bicycle crashes happen because of a combination of factors, but studies have shown that slower speeds, especially along intersections with limited visibility, make for safer commutes.
The tires can withstand bumps and potholes, and the seats are flat, keeping riders upright.
Citi Bikes have wide tires, much like mountain bikes, which allow them to easily weather bumps, potholes and uneven surfaces.
Researchers at the Mineta Transportation Institute found that riders experience increased stability when using wider tires. They also found that, because the Citi Bike seat is below the handlebars, riders are more likely to sit upright, maintaining better balance. On regular bikes, most handlebars are below the seat, which forces riders to lean forward and makes them more susceptible to falling over if they hit a bump.
The bikes are bright and highly visible.
The same study also found that Citi Bikes have increased visibility — the bikes are painted electric blue and include front and back lights, accessories that most regular cyclists have to buy separately.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider