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Commentaries on published evidence

A case control study of the effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets

Thompson RS, Rivara FP, Thompson DC. New England Journal of Medicine, 1989 v320 n21 p1361-7. 1989.

A case-control study on the effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets in preventing facial injury

Thompson DC, Thompson RS, Rivara FP, Wolf ME. American Journal of Public Health, 1990; 80(12):1471-1474. 1990.

A hospital led promotion campaign aimed to increase bicycle helmet wearing among children aged 11-15 living in West Berkshire 1992-98

Lee AJ, Mann NP, Takriti R. Injury Prevention, 2000;6:151-153. 2000.

Bicycle helmet legislation for the uptake of helmet use and prevention of head injuries (Review)

Macpherson AK, Spinks A. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2007 issue 2 Art. No. CD005401. 2007.

Unable to show that reductions in head injuries after helmet laws were result of helmets rather than decline in cycling.

Bicycle helmet prevalence two years after the introduction of mandatory use legislation for under 18s in Alberta, Canada

Hagel BE, Rizkallah JW, Lamy A, Belton KL, Jhangri GS, Cherry N, Rowe BH. Injury Prevention, 2006;12:262-265. 2006.

Bicycle helmets - a review of their effectiveness: a critical review of the literature

Towner E, Dowswell T, Burkes M, Dickinson H, Towner J, Hayes M. Department for Transport, Road Safety Research Report 30. 2002.

Bicycle injuries: road trauma is not the only concern

Jacobson GA, Blizzard L, Dwyer T. Austr NZ J Public Health, 1998 Jun;22(4):451-5.. 1998.

Bicycle safety helmet legislation and bicycle-related non-fatal injuries in California

Lee BH, Schofer JL, Koppelman FS. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2005;37:93-102. 2005.

Changes in traffic crash mortality rates attributed to use of alcohol, or lack of a seat belt, air bag, motorcycle helmet or bicycle helmet, United States 1982-2001

Cummings P, Rivara FP, Olson CM, Smith KM. Injury Prevention, 2006;12;148-154. 2006.

Cycle helmet effectiveness in New Zealand

Povey LJ, Frith WJ, Graham PG. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 1999 Nov;31(6):763-70. 1999.

Cycle helmets - time for legislation

Lee AJ, Mann MP. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 2003;88:465-466. 2003.

Cycle helmets and road casualties in the UK

Hewson PJ. Traffic Injury Prevention, 2005;6(2):127-134. 2005.

There is no evidence that cycle helmets reduce the overall cyclist injury burden at the population level in the UK when data on road casualties is examined.

Cycling and children and young people: a review

Gill T. National Children's Bureau. 2005.

"Those ... who cycle should be under no illusion that helmets offer reliable protection in crash situations where our lives may be in danger. Neither should we believe that widespread adoption of helmet wearing would see many fewer cyclists killed or permanently disabled. The evidence so far suggests otherwise."

Do bicycle safety helmets reduce severity of head injury in real crashes?

Dorsch MM, Woodward AJ, Somers RL. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 1987 Jun;19(3):183-90. 1987.

Economic disparity in bicycle helmet use by children six years after the introduction of legislation

Macpherson AK, Macarthur C, To TM, Chipman ML, Wright JG, Parkin PC. Injury Prevention, 2006;12:231-235. 2006.

Effect of legislation on the use of bicycle helmets

LeBlanc JC, Beattie TL, Culligan C. Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ 2002;166(5): p592-5. 2002.

Effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets in preventing head injuries: a case-control study

Thompson DC, Rivara FP, Thompson RS.. JAMA, 1996 Dec 25;276(24):1968-73. 1996.

Effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets in preventing serious facial injury

Thompson DC, Nunn ME, Thompson RS, Rivara FP. JAMA, 1996a;276(24):1974-1975. 1996.

Evaluation of the bicycle helmet wearing law in Victoria during its first four years

Carr D, Dyte D, Cameron MH. Monash University Accident Research Centre, Report 76. 1995.

Extent and severity of cycle accident casualties

. Scottish Executive Social Research. 2005.

Fewer head and face injuries with helmets, but no effect on injuries serious enough to require hospital admission or other ongoing treatment.

Head injuries to bicyclists and the New Zealand bicycle helmet law

Scuffham P, Alsop J, Cryer C, Langley JD. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2000 Jul;32(4):565-73. 2000.

Helmets for preventing head and facial injuries in bicyclists (Cochrane Review)

Thompson DC, Rivara FP, Thompson RS.. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, issue 4, 2002. 2002.

Impact of Mandatory Helmet Legislation on Bicycle-Related Head Injuries in Children: A Population-Based Study

Macpherson AK, To TM, Macarthur C, Chipman ML, Wright JG, Parkin PC. Pediatrics, 2002; 110(5):e60. 2002.

Injury patterns in cyclists attending an accident and emergency department: a comparison of helmet wearers and non-wearers

Maimaris C, Summers CL, Browning C, Palmer CR. BMJ, 1994 Jun 11;308(6943):1537-40. 1994.

Investigating population level trends in head injuries amongst child cyclists in the UK

Hewson PJ. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2005;37(5):807-815. 2005.

Head injuries are declining for child cyclists and pedestrians, but this is not related to helmet wearing data.

Legislation for the compulsory wearing of cycle helmets

BMA. BMA. 2004.

Making cycle helmets compulsory: ethical arguments for legislation

Sheikh A, Cook A, Ashcroft R. J R Soc Med, J R Soc Med 2004;97:262-265. 2004.

Mandatory helmet legislation and children's exposure to cycling

Macpherson AK, Parkin PC, To TM. Injury Prevention, Inj Prev 2001;7:228-230. 2001.

Mind your head - the data and debate on bicycle helmet effectiveness

Cook A. Significance, Dec 2004;1;4:162-3. 2004.

New Zealand bicycle helmet law - do the costs outweigh the benefits?

Taylor M, Scuffham P. Injury Prevention, 2002;8:317-320. 2002.

Oblique impact testing of bicycle helmets

Mills NJ, Gilchrist A. Int Journal of Impact Engineering, 2008;35(9):1075-1086. 2008.

Promoting safe cycling and helmet use

Curran ALM. British Medical Association. 2008.

Revised 2010

Risk compensation behavior in children - myth or reality?

Pless IB, Magdalinos H, Hagel B. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 2006;160(6):610-614. 2006.

Seasonal variation in hospital admission for road traffic injuries in England: analysis of hospital statistics

Gill M, Goldacre M. Injury Prevention, 2009;15:374-78. 2009.

The effectiveness of bicycle helmets: a study of 1710 casualties

McDermott FT, Lane JC, Brazenore GA, Debney EA. Journal of Trauma, 1993; 34(6):834-845. 1993.

The effects of provincial bicycle helmet legislation on helmet use and bicycle ridership in Canada

Dennis J, Potter B, Ramsay T, Zarychanski R. Injury Prevention, 2010;16:219-24. 2010.

The impact of compulsory cycle helmet legislation on cyclist head injuries in New South Wales

Walter SR, Olivier J, Churches T, Grzebieta R.. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2011 Nov;43(6):2064-71. 2011.

This study claims to be the last word in showing that helmet laws are beneficial.

The potential for cycle helmets to prevent injury - a review of the evidence

Hynd D, Cuerden R, Reid S, Adams S. Transport Research Laboratory, PPR446. 2009.

Despite attempts to manipulate the results, one of the largest reviews of the evidence has not been able to find any reliable evidence that helmets have benefited cyclists

Trends in head injury mortality among 0 - 14 year olds in Scotland (1986-95)

Williamson LM, Morrison A, Stone DH. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2002;56;285-288. 2002.

Trends in helmet use and head injuries in San Diego County: The effect of bicycle helmet legislation

Ming J, Gilchick RA, Bender SJ. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2006;38(1):128-134. 2006.

No significant reduction in serious head injury over study period. Serious head injuries rose as helmet use grew fastest. Although one of the most popular areas for cycling in the USA, the incidence of serious head injury was low.

Trends in pediatric and adult bicycling deaths before and after passage of a bicycle helmet law

Wesson D, Stephens D, Lam K, Parsons D, Spence L, Parkin P. Pediatrics, 2008;122:605-610. 2008.

Trends in serious head injuries among cyclists in England: analysis of routinely collected data

Cook A, Sheikh A. BMJ, 2000;321:1055. 2000.

Trends in serious head injuries among English cyclists and pedestrians

Cook A, Sheikh A. Injury Prevention, 2003;9:266-267. 2003.

See also