Child Helmet Laws: The benefits of helmets in reducing
injury are greatly overstated
- There is no large-population evidence from anywhere in the world that cycle
helmets have been effective in reducing fatal or serious injuries.
- The British Government has said that it knows of no data linking increases
in helmet use with improvements in cycling safety [1].
- Cyclists in the USA were 40% more likely to suffer head injury in 2001 than
in 1991, although helmet use had increased from 18% to 50% [2].
- In Greater London, cyclist injuries became more serious as helmet use
increased in the mid 1990s. In 2001, although some 50% of cyclists wore helmets,
the severity of injuries was higher than in 1981 and fatalities were at their
highest since 1989. The severity of pedestrian injuries (which previously had
tracked those of cyclists) continued to decline [3].
- In Great Britain, the rise in helmet use has not been matched by any
detectable improvement in trends for fatalities or serious injuries
[4].
- In Nova Scotia, a law increased helmet use from 36% to 86%, but the fall in
head injuries was only in line with the drop in cycle use 24. In Canada as a
whole, rising helmet use (to 50% by 1997) has had no detectable impact on
cyclist fatalities [5].
- In Western Australia, helmet laws caused head injuries to fall by 11 to
21%. But cycle use fell by 30% or more. The risk of head injury for those who
continued to cycle increased [6].
- In New Zealand, large increases in helmet use have not brought about any
reduction in the proportion of serious head injuries. Some reduction in mild
concussions and lacerations has been balanced by an increase in potentially more
serious neck injuries [7].
|
Many doctors believe that cycle helmets can increase the risk of
the most serious types of brain injury (that lead to death or chronic
intellectual disablement) by converting direct forces into rotational ones that
helmets do not mitigate [8] |
References
[1] Letter from David Jamieson MP, Minister Department for
Transport, to Michael Jack MP, October 2003.
[2] US Consumer Product Safety Commission. See:
A bicycling mystery: head injuries piling up.
[3] Traffic casualty statistics from Transport for London.
Helmet wearing data from TRL.
[4] Franklin J. Trends in cyclist
casualties in Britain with increasing helmet use. 2000.
[5] Burdett A.
Cyclist
fatalities in Canada 1975 to 2001. 
[6] Hendrie D, Legge M, Rosman D, Kirov C. An Economic Evaluation of the Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Legislation in Western Australia. Road Accident Prevention Research Unit, University of Western Australia.
[7] Scuffham et al. Head injuries to
bicyclists and the New Zealand bicycle helmet law. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 1000; 32:565-573, with further analysis by
Perry, based on original data.
[8] Curnow WJ. The efficacy of bicycle helmets against brain injury. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2003,35:287-292.
