NEW YORK Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a law mandating that restaurants and other local businesses provide free helmets for bicycle delivery workers and make sure they wear them while they are working.
The law, which takes effect July 26, also requires that business owners ensure the bicycles ridden by delivery workers are equipped with safety devices as required by state vehicle and traffic laws. Under a second law, business owners are required to display signs inside their premises reviewing bicycle regulations and safety laws.
While the city doesn't maintain separate statistics of deaths involving bicycle messengers, one report states that about two dozen bicycle deaths occur in the city each year, and in 94 percent of those cases the riders were not wearing helmets.
