BICYCLE HELMET RESEARCH FOUNDATION cyclehelmets.org Home Page Main Topics Analysis Search Site Full Index

Helmet laws: New South Wales

Introduction and scope
The New South Wales helmet law came into effect from 1st January 1991 for adults and from 1st July 1991 for children under 16. From that date it applied to all ages.

Compliance and enforcement
Adult helmet use rose from 28% to 77% at the time that the adult law came into force, and then to 85% upon enactment of the child law. Child helmet use remained at 31% until enactment of the child law when it increased to 77%.
The law is strictly enforced in most, but not all, localities.

Effect on casualties For children over the first two years of the law, the decline in head injuries and the decline in injuries to other parts of the body was proportionately smaller than the decline in cycle use. [1] Child cyclists were 21% more likely to suffer death of serious injury than pre-law, whereas child pedestrians were 21% less likely and other child road users 20% less likely due to the benefits of other road safety initiatives that should also have been enjoyed by cyclists. [2] Information about adult cyclists does not seem to be available.

Effect on cycle use
Prior to the law, cycling was growing strongly in New South Wales, with an increase of 250% during the 1980s in Sydney [3].
However, in the first two years of the child law, the number of cycling cycling declined by 36% and 44% respectively compared with the year before the law. The largest reduction in cycling was among secondary female students in Sydney: 214 in 1991 down to 20 in 1993, a drop of 90.6% [1]. The decline in the number of children observed cycling was 5 times that of the number who started to wear a cycle helmet (569 v 2,658).

Cost benefit
No analysis.

References and related studies

[1] Smith NC, Milthorpe MW. An Observational Survey of Law Compliance and Helmet Wearing by Bicyclists in New South Wales - 1993 (4th survey). 1993 NSW Roads & Traffic Authority ISBN0-7305-9110-7
[2] Road Traffic Accidents in New South Wales 1992, 1993, 1994. Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales.
[3] Cycling in Europe. Proceedings of a national bicycle conference, Melbourne, March 1992. Bicycle Federation of Australia, 1992.
[-] Robinson DL. Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 1996 Jul;28(4):463-75.
[-] Walker M. Compulsory helmet wearing in New South Wales (2nd survey). 1991 Roads Traffic Authority NSW
[-] Walker M. Law compliance among cyclists in NSW (3rd survey) 1992 Road Traffic Authority NSW