"As Bicycling Gains Popularity, Safety Concerns Arise" - Lucette Lagnado
As bike-share programs get new riders on the road and into better shape, some doctors say they are treating far more injuries, including traumatic ones, related to cycling. Cities need to do more to make cyclists and pedestrians safe, the doctors say. In a paper issued last summer, the Governors Highway Safety Association said bike-related deaths on U.S. streets and highways rose 12.2 percent in 2015 from the previous year. Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Trauma Center, which is a few blocks from New York City’s Central Park, has seen an increase in bike-trauma victims, many injured in the park. The severity of their injuries—including shattered bones, facial trauma and damaged organs—prompted Stephen Zink, MD, assistant professor of radiology at the Icahn School of medicine at Mount Sinai, to analyze them. Working with the trauma team, Dr. Zink found from 2014 to 2016, bike-related traumas treated at St. Luke’s increased by 34.5 percent. The Mount Sinai St. Luke’s trauma team attributes the surge to the popularity of biking and bike-sharing programs in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington and other cities. Among their concerns: many bike-rental operations don’t provide helmets.
- Stephen Zink, MD, Assistant Professor, Radiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Raymond Wedderburn, MD, Chief, Trauma and Critical Care, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s