Helmet wearing among e-bikers in Shanghai: On-site observational study

ObjectiveTo investigate helmet wearing among e-bikers in Shanghai and provide the basis for legislation in this regard.

MethodsBy means of Baidu map location function Shanghai was divided into 4 regions as inner, middle and outer rings. In each region, 2 sites were random sampled. And by on-site observation the helmet-wearing rate for e-bikers passing through the site was recorded.

ResultsA total of 45 430 e-bike riders and 6886 e-bike passengers were recorded during the period from 2015 to 2017, indicating that only 12.45% e-bike riders and 1.93% passengers behind wore helmets(χ²=672.44, P < 0.001).The rate of helmet wearing among male riders (12.76%) was higher than among female riders (11.45%)(χ²= 12.84, P < 0.001).The rate of helmet wearing was related to the season, which was increasing in winter and falling in summer.The rate of helmet wearing in inner ring was higher than in other regions.The rate of helmet wearing in food delivery was much higher than in package delivery(34.34% vs 10.18%;P < 0.001) and total bikers(34.34% vs12.45%;P < 0.001).

ConclusionThe rate of helmet wearing is low in Shanghai, and safety consciousness weak in e-bikers.It is urgent to legislate helmet wearing with e-bikers in Shanghai so as to reduce road traffic injury.