Bird bets e-scooter rider safety on ‘helmet selfies’ and free rides

Selfies aren’t something you’d normally associate with safety, but scooter-sharing company Bird aims to change that. 

On Tuesday, the company introduced the “helmet selfie,” and, no, it’s not a helmet with a camera attached. Since Bird knows its riders can be reckless with their safety, it’s dangling a bit of a lure in the form of free rides and discounts for users who take a “helmet selfie.” All you need is a helmet on your head at the end of a ride. Simple as that. Then snap a shot and send it off to Bird. 

The helmet selfie feature is already available for riders in Washington, D.C., where it was piloted. It’ll roll out globally to more cities where Bird operates as it’s requested.

So, why the sudden interest in rider safety? Well, earlier this year, a joint study between Austin Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly half of all scooter-related injuries are — shocker — head injuries. That’s not surprising when helmet compliance among riders is so low … like, under-5-percent-of-riders low. 

You’d think that people riding on a two-wheeled device that goes up to 15 mph would want to take some safety precautions. But, it’s hard to convince adults to wear a helmet if it’s not an enforced law. And, in California, you have Bird to thank for that.

Ironically, Bird was one of the scooter companies that successfully lobbied for the California law to ease up on helmet requirements for adults. If you’re 18 or older, you can now decide if you want to wear a helmet on a scooter or risk brain damage. Now, as cities begin to crack down on unsafe scooter riding, Bird and other operators want to make sure riders are protected. 

Bird, Lime, and other scooter-sharing services already offer riders free helmets and safety gear for reduced prices. In fact, Bird has handed out about 75,000 free helmets in the last 18 months. It’s also planning to build a Safety Marketplace where riders can shop online for a helmet or other safety accessories.

Short of forcing helmets onto their riders’ heads, there’s not much more these companies can do, which is why they’re getting creative. Fellow scooter operator Scoot recently added the “Rider Promise” in its app that asks riders to pledge to be safe and considerate. Lime similarly requires riders to comply in-app with safety rules before they can start to ride. And another scooter-sharing company, VeoRide, is already using camera-based AI like Bird’s to detect if riders are wearing a helmet — but before they ride, not after. 

Sure, a ‘helmet selfie’ won’t exactly rack up the ‘likes.’ But it’s a small price to pay to avoid scrambled brains.