Bicycle helmets in Australia: Difference between revisions
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When mandatory bicycle helmet laws were enacted in Australia, surveys showed a reduction of just over 33% in cycling. For children, the decrease in numbers of cyclists counted (2215 in New South Wales, 649 in Victoria) was much greater than the increase in numbers wearing helmets (1019 in NSW and 43 in Vic), suggesting that the main effect of the law was to discourage cycling rather than persuade cyclists to wear helmets.<ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5S-3VWPXBT-6&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=f0519888e8148bd0d158934c7a3cf0f5 Robinson DL. Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws. Accid Anal Prev. 1996 Jul;28(4):463-75.]</ref> |
When mandatory bicycle helmet laws were enacted in Australia, surveys showed a reduction of just over 33% in cycling. For children, the decrease in numbers of cyclists counted (2215 in New South Wales, 649 in Victoria) was much greater than the increase in numbers wearing helmets (1019 in NSW and 43 in Vic), suggesting that the main effect of the law was to discourage cycling rather than persuade cyclists to wear helmets.<ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5S-3VWPXBT-6&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=f0519888e8148bd0d158934c7a3cf0f5 Robinson DL. Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws. Accid Anal Prev. 1996 Jul;28(4):463-75.]</ref> |
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[[File:Australia cycling to work helmet laws.JPG|thumb|left|Census data on cycling to work]] Census data on cycling to work confirm the substantial falls after the introduction of helmet laws and the limited recovery. The most recent census data (2006) show much lower percentages cycling to work than before helmet laws were introduced. |
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Census data on cycling to work in Victoria show a slight dip in journeys taken to work by bike after the laws were enacted (13,759 cyclists in 1991 to 12,328 in 1996) but a drastic increase in the ten years up to 2006 (21,584 cyclists) taking the number of cyclists riding to work to well over pre-helmet legislation levels. [http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/29A3CEDE-B1A0-492E-8158-2210C11E5D01/0/Report_on_Cycling_to_work.pdf Vicroads Cycling to Work in Melbourne 1976-2006]</ref> |
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Another important source of information is the comprehensive surveys of cycling in Western Australia in 1986 (pre-law) and 2006. There was a 33% decline in cycling to work from 1986 to 2006 (from about 1.5 to 1.0 trips per weekday per 100 people), consistent with the census data. Much more dramatic falls of 55% and 79% were noted in trips for shopping and education. Cycling to education destinations fell from about 8.2 to 1.7 per weekday per 100 people; shopping trips fell from about 5.2 to 2.3 per weekday per 100 people. |
Another important source of information is the comprehensive surveys of cycling in Western Australia in 1986 (pre-law) and 2006. There was a 33% decline in cycling to work from 1986 to 2006 (from about 1.5 to 1.0 trips per weekday per 100 people), consistent with the census data. Much more dramatic falls of 55% and 79% were noted in trips for shopping and education. Cycling to education destinations fell from about 8.2 to 1.7 per weekday per 100 people; shopping trips fell from about 5.2 to 2.3 per weekday per 100 people.<ref>[http://patrec.org/forum/2011/papers/7+KER+110816+IK+PATREC+Paper.pdf Ian Ker, 2011. Empty Cells, Damned Half-Truths and Pseudo-Statistics:The Lot(tery) of the Bicycle Planner]</ref> |
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A National cycling survey in 2011 suggested a somewhat less bleak picture. Between 1985/86 and 2011, the population aged 9+ years increased by 58% and the number of cycle trips by this age group by 21%, representing a 24% reduction in the number of cycle trips per capita for people aged at least 9 years <ref>[http://www.cycle-helmets.com/cycling-1985-2011.html Australian cyclist numbers and population]</ref>. A survey of 1000 Australians by the Cycling Promotion fund found that 515 respondents were not interested in cycling for transport, with 81 citing as a reason that they didn’t like wearing helmets. |
A National cycling survey in 2011 suggested a somewhat less bleak picture. Between 1985/86 and 2011, the population aged 9+ years increased by 58% and the number of cycle trips by this age group by 21%, representing a 24% reduction in the number of cycle trips per capita for people aged at least 9 years <ref>[http://www.cycle-helmets.com/cycling-1985-2011.html Australian cyclist numbers and population]</ref>. A survey of 1000 Australians by the Cycling Promotion fund found that 515 respondents were not interested in cycling for transport, with 81 citing as a reason that they didn’t like wearing helmets. Only 158 people had actually cycled for transport in the past month. An increase of 81 (51% of those who cycled for transport), on top of the 16% of current transport cyclists who said that they would cycle more if not required to wear a helmet, represents a potential 60% increase in cycling for transport from repealing helmet laws.<ref>[http://www.cyclingpromotion.com.au/images/stories/MediaReleaseDocs/CyclingPromotionFund_Riding_a_Bike_for_Transport_Survey_Report_2011.pdf Riding a Bike for Transport 2011 Survey Findings]</ref> |
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The accessibility of compulsory helmets was considered as one of the many reasons for the comparatively low usage of Melbourne's [[bicycle sharing system]] inaugurated in 2010. Increased access to helmets in local shops saw usage of the bike share scheme almost double in late 2010 to an average of 183 trips a day <ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/helmet-law-hurting-shared-bike-scheme-20101128-18cf2.html Clay Lucas: ''Helmet law hurting shared bike scheme''] in [[The Age]], 29 November 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/24/2963183.htm ABC: ''Cyclists fined during anti-helmet protest'', 24 July 2010]</ref><ref>[http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/citycycle-wont-follow-melbournes-5-helmet-lead-20110808-1ii05.html] Brisbane Times</ref> However, this represents just 0.3 trips per bike per day for Melbourne's 600 bikes. |
The accessibility of compulsory helmets was considered as one of the many reasons for the comparatively low usage of Melbourne's [[bicycle sharing system]] inaugurated in 2010. Increased access to helmets in local shops saw usage of the bike share scheme almost double in late 2010 to an average of 183 trips a day <ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/helmet-law-hurting-shared-bike-scheme-20101128-18cf2.html Clay Lucas: ''Helmet law hurting shared bike scheme''] in [[The Age]], 29 November 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/24/2963183.htm ABC: ''Cyclists fined during anti-helmet protest'', 24 July 2010]</ref><ref>[http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/citycycle-wont-follow-melbournes-5-helmet-lead-20110808-1ii05.html] Brisbane Times</ref> However, this represents just 0.3 trips per bike per day for Melbourne's 600 bikes, a 97% reduction on the 8.8 trips per bike per day on Dublin's 550 bikes. |
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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/dublinbikes-clocks-up-two-million-journeys-504918.html|title=DublinBikes clocks up two million journeys|date=13 May 2011|publisher=breakingnews.ie|accessdate=13 May 2011}}</ref> Dublin's bikes are remarkably safe. Statistics for the first two million trips show just two injuries to bikes users that required hospital attention, and both of those people were out of hospital within 24 hours.<ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1207.html?NKey=61|title=Dublin clocks up 2 million bike hirings and cycling is safer than ever|date=13 May 2011|publisher=breakingnews.ie|accessdate=28 January 2012}}</ref> |
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===Head injuries=== |
===Head injuries=== |
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A 2011 study commissioned by the Queensland Government <ref>[http://www.bv.com.au/file/file/carrsq%20bike%20helmet%20report.pdf Center for Accident research and bike safety Bike Helmet Research]</ref> noted that, for cyclists who crash, an international review (by the authors of several case-control studies that supported helmet wearing), helmet wearers in the case-control studies had a 69% reduction in odds of head or brain injury and a 74% reduction in the odds of severe brain injury. However, there are several examples of unreliable results from case-control studies which have been attributed to [[Confounding variable|confounding]]. The results of the most widely-cited helmet study were questioned because child helmet wearers were a very different social group to the non-wearers. Children cycling on the streets at the time had about the same helmet-wearing rate as child cyclists with head injuries; child cyclists with non-head injuries had a much higher rate of helmet use.<ref name="DiG">DiGuiseppi CG, Rivara FP, Koepsell TD, Polissar L. Bicycle helmet use by children. Evaluation of a community-wide helmet campaign. Journal of the American Medical Association 1989;262:2256-61.</ref> |
A 2011 study commissioned by the Queensland Government <ref>[http://www.bv.com.au/file/file/carrsq%20bike%20helmet%20report.pdf Center for Accident research and bike safety Bike Helmet Research]</ref> noted that, for cyclists who crash, an international review (by the authors of several case-control studies that supported helmet wearing), helmet wearers in the case-control studies had a 69% reduction in odds of head or brain injury and a 74% reduction in the odds of severe brain injury. However, there are several examples of unreliable results from case-control studies which have been attributed to [[Confounding variable|confounding]]. The results of the most widely-cited helmet study were questioned because child helmet wearers were a very different social group to the non-wearers. Children cycling on the streets at the time had about the same helmet-wearing rate as child cyclists with head injuries; child cyclists with non-head injuries had a much higher rate of helmet use.<ref name="DiG">DiGuiseppi CG, Rivara FP, Koepsell TD, Polissar L. Bicycle helmet use by children. Evaluation of a community-wide helmet campaign. Journal of the American Medical Association 1989;262:2256-61.</ref> |
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There is |
There is mounting evidence that helmet wearing increases the the risk of injury due to [[Bicycle_helmet|risk compensation]], and that helmet laws also increase risk because of reduced "[[safety in numbers]]".<ref>{{cite journal | author =Jacobsen, P. L. | year =2003 | title = Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling | journal =Injury Prevention | volume =9 | issue =3 | pages =205–209 |
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| url =http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/9/3/205 |doi=10.1136/ip.9.3.205 | pmid = 12966006 | pmc =1731007 | quote = A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling if more people walk or bicycle.}}</ref> |
| url =http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/9/3/205 |doi=10.1136/ip.9.3.205 | pmid = 12966006 | pmc =1731007 | quote = A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling if more people walk or bicycle.}}</ref> |
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A Norwegian review, including published analyses of Australian helmet laws, concluded that "There is evidence of increased accident risk for cycling-km for cyclists wearing a helmet. In Australia and New Zealand the risk is estimated to be around 14%" |
A Norwegian review, including published analyses of Australian helmet laws, concluded that "There is evidence of increased accident risk for cycling-km for cyclists wearing a helmet. In Australia and New Zealand the risk is estimated to be around 14%".<ref>Making Vision Zero real: Preventing pedestrian accidents and making them less severe, Alena Erke & Rune Elvik, TØI Report 889/2007, Institute of Transport Economics (TØI), Norwegian Centre for Transport Research, ISBN 978-82-480-0749-4 http://www.toi.no/article19378-29.html</ref> Such increases in the risk of injury can be compared with reductions in other countries. In 1997, 24 cyclists died in Dublin, compared to 3 in 2009. Dublin has many more cyclists and a dramatically reduced injury rate per cycle km now than a decade ago.<ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1207.html?NKey=61|title=Dublin clocks up 2 million bike hirings and cycling is safer than ever|date=13 May 2011|publisher=breakingnews.ie|accessdate=28 January 2012}}</ref> |
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===Lost Health and environmental benefits=== |
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Unlike the Australian public bike schemes, Barcelona’s city bike scheme has resulted in major health benefits. Compared with car users, the estimated annual change for 181,982 users is 0.03 deaths from road traffic incidents, 0.13 deaths from air pollution, but 12.46 deaths avoided from increased physical activity <ref>[http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4521 Rojas-Rueda et al. 2011, BMJ. The health risks and benefits of cycling in urban environments compared with car use: health impact assessment study]</ref>. This small-scale evaluation gives an inkling of the lost health and environmental benefits from the reductions in cycling due to helmet laws. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 12:32, 2 February 2012
Bicycle helmet use in Australia has been mandatory since 1990, the first country to do so.[1] The current legally required standard for a bicycle helmet is AS/NZS 2063.[2]
Effects of mandatory laws
Bicycle usage
When mandatory bicycle helmet laws were enacted in Australia, surveys showed a reduction of just over 33% in cycling. For children, the decrease in numbers of cyclists counted (2215 in New South Wales, 649 in Victoria) was much greater than the increase in numbers wearing helmets (1019 in NSW and 43 in Vic), suggesting that the main effect of the law was to discourage cycling rather than persuade cyclists to wear helmets.[3]
Census data on cycling to work confirm the substantial falls after the introduction of helmet laws and the limited recovery. The most recent census data (2006) show much lower percentages cycling to work than before helmet laws were introduced.
Another important source of information is the comprehensive surveys of cycling in Western Australia in 1986 (pre-law) and 2006. There was a 33% decline in cycling to work from 1986 to 2006 (from about 1.5 to 1.0 trips per weekday per 100 people), consistent with the census data. Much more dramatic falls of 55% and 79% were noted in trips for shopping and education. Cycling to education destinations fell from about 8.2 to 1.7 per weekday per 100 people; shopping trips fell from about 5.2 to 2.3 per weekday per 100 people.[4]
A National cycling survey in 2011 suggested a somewhat less bleak picture. Between 1985/86 and 2011, the population aged 9+ years increased by 58% and the number of cycle trips by this age group by 21%, representing a 24% reduction in the number of cycle trips per capita for people aged at least 9 years [5]. A survey of 1000 Australians by the Cycling Promotion fund found that 515 respondents were not interested in cycling for transport, with 81 citing as a reason that they didn’t like wearing helmets. Only 158 people had actually cycled for transport in the past month. An increase of 81 (51% of those who cycled for transport), on top of the 16% of current transport cyclists who said that they would cycle more if not required to wear a helmet, represents a potential 60% increase in cycling for transport from repealing helmet laws.[6]
The accessibility of compulsory helmets was considered as one of the many reasons for the comparatively low usage of Melbourne's bicycle sharing system inaugurated in 2010. Increased access to helmets in local shops saw usage of the bike share scheme almost double in late 2010 to an average of 183 trips a day [7][8][9] However, this represents just 0.3 trips per bike per day for Melbourne's 600 bikes, a 97% reduction on the 8.8 trips per bike per day on Dublin's 550 bikes. [10] Dublin's bikes are remarkably safe. Statistics for the first two million trips show just two injuries to bikes users that required hospital attention, and both of those people were out of hospital within 24 hours.[11]
Head injuries
During 1977-80 in the state of Victoria cyclist casualties, prior to the helmet legislation, sustained head injuries including severe head injuries, more than twice as frequently as the helmeted motorcyclist casualties.[12]
A review of head injuries and cycle use in Australia and New Zealand concluded that there was no evidence that the laws had reduced head injuries.[13] In 2010, a district court judge in NSW agreed that there is no conclusive evidence to the benefits of wearing bicycle helmets.[14]
A study conducted by the University of New South Wales in 2011 concluded that Mandatory Helmet Laws led to a 29% reduction in cycling related head injuries. [15] This paper was, however, heavily criticized by a subsequent peer-reviewed paper arguing that its conclusions were invalid. [16]
A 2011 study commissioned by the Queensland Government [17] noted that, for cyclists who crash, an international review (by the authors of several case-control studies that supported helmet wearing), helmet wearers in the case-control studies had a 69% reduction in odds of head or brain injury and a 74% reduction in the odds of severe brain injury. However, there are several examples of unreliable results from case-control studies which have been attributed to confounding. The results of the most widely-cited helmet study were questioned because child helmet wearers were a very different social group to the non-wearers. Children cycling on the streets at the time had about the same helmet-wearing rate as child cyclists with head injuries; child cyclists with non-head injuries had a much higher rate of helmet use.[18]
There is mounting evidence that helmet wearing increases the the risk of injury due to risk compensation, and that helmet laws also increase risk because of reduced "safety in numbers".[19] A Norwegian review, including published analyses of Australian helmet laws, concluded that "There is evidence of increased accident risk for cycling-km for cyclists wearing a helmet. In Australia and New Zealand the risk is estimated to be around 14%".[20] Such increases in the risk of injury can be compared with reductions in other countries. In 1997, 24 cyclists died in Dublin, compared to 3 in 2009. Dublin has many more cyclists and a dramatically reduced injury rate per cycle km now than a decade ago.[21]
Lost Health and environmental benefits
Unlike the Australian public bike schemes, Barcelona’s city bike scheme has resulted in major health benefits. Compared with car users, the estimated annual change for 181,982 users is 0.03 deaths from road traffic incidents, 0.13 deaths from air pollution, but 12.46 deaths avoided from increased physical activity [22]. This small-scale evaluation gives an inkling of the lost health and environmental benefits from the reductions in cycling due to helmet laws.
See also
References
- ^ Curnow, W. J. "Bicycle Helmets: A Scientific Evaluation" in Anton De Smet (2008). Transportation Accident Analysis and Prevention. Commack, N.Y: Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 1-60456-288-9.
- ^ Australian Government: Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standard) (Bicycle Helmets) Regulations 2001
- ^ Robinson DL. Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws. Accid Anal Prev. 1996 Jul;28(4):463-75.
- ^ Ian Ker, 2011. Empty Cells, Damned Half-Truths and Pseudo-Statistics:The Lot(tery) of the Bicycle Planner
- ^ Australian cyclist numbers and population
- ^ Riding a Bike for Transport 2011 Survey Findings
- ^ Clay Lucas: Helmet law hurting shared bike scheme in The Age, 29 November 2010
- ^ ABC: Cyclists fined during anti-helmet protest, 24 July 2010
- ^ [1] Brisbane Times
- ^ "DublinBikes clocks up two million journeys". breakingnews.ie. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ ["Dublin clocks up 2 million bike hirings and cycling is safer than ever". breakingnews.ie. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ FT McDermott & GL Klug. Head injury predominance: Pedal cyclists vs motorcyclists. MJA, Vol 143, pp232-234, 1985
- ^ Robinson, D L (2006). "No clear evidence from countries that have enforced the wearing of helmets". BMJ. 332 (7543): 722–725. doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7543.722-a. PMC 1410838. PMID 16565131.
- ^ Matthew Moore: Heady freedom as judge agrees helmet laws are unnecessary, in The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 August 2010
- ^ bv.com.au
- ^ Chris Rissel. The impact of compulsory cycle helmet legislation on cyclist head injuries in New South Wales, Australia: A rejoinder. Accid Anal Prev. 2012
- ^ Center for Accident research and bike safety Bike Helmet Research
- ^ DiGuiseppi CG, Rivara FP, Koepsell TD, Polissar L. Bicycle helmet use by children. Evaluation of a community-wide helmet campaign. Journal of the American Medical Association 1989;262:2256-61.
- ^ Jacobsen, P. L. (2003). "Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling". Injury Prevention. 9 (3): 205–209. doi:10.1136/ip.9.3.205. PMC 1731007. PMID 12966006.
A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling if more people walk or bicycle.
- ^ Making Vision Zero real: Preventing pedestrian accidents and making them less severe, Alena Erke & Rune Elvik, TØI Report 889/2007, Institute of Transport Economics (TØI), Norwegian Centre for Transport Research, ISBN 978-82-480-0749-4 http://www.toi.no/article19378-29.html
- ^ ["Dublin clocks up 2 million bike hirings and cycling is safer than ever". breakingnews.ie. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ Rojas-Rueda et al. 2011, BMJ. The health risks and benefits of cycling in urban environments compared with car use: health impact assessment study