Helmet Intervention
Rafael Cordoboa
Since I moved to New York City the bicycle has been my method of transportation. Despite my awareness of road safety, I have never worn a helmet. My experience and observation have shown me that there are many bicycle riders that, like me, circulate without head protection and disregard their own safety. For this reason, the main focus of my thesis project is to encourage New York City bicycle rider to wear helmet. I intend to accomplish this goal by making an intervention in the city. The specific location chosen for this intervention is the Hudson River Bike Lane. The fact that in this location riders are completely isolated from circulation of cars and/or pedestrians make it a unique spot to accommodate my intervention. This intervention is divided in two parts. The first part consists of the installation of cameras along the bike lane. The cameras identify every rider who is not wearing a helmet and display that rider's image on an interconnected banner. The banner displays a streaming counter of the number of cyclists that have crossed the bike lane without a helmet and a personalized mock up photo rendering of those riders. The second part of the intervention consists of a photo booth that will target those riders who wear helmets. The photo booth will encourage riders to share their portrait as a part of a major campaign. The images collected from the photo booth can be selected, refined, and shared through social media.