BMJ 1994;308:1521-1522 (11 June)

Editorials

Cycle helmets and the law

Any discussions of the law and the use of bicycle helmets will be helped by focusing on three questions. Firstly, how much do cycle helmets affect the risk of injury in a crash? Secondly, how much do laws requiring cyclists to wear helmets affect casualties? And, thirdly, should wearing of bicycle helmets be required by law?

Answers to the first two questions have objective answers that can be sought from specific empirical studies and what is already known about traffic safety.1 Three unrelated sources of evidence consistently show that cycle helmets reduce risk substantially in a crash. The science of biomechanics shows that a helmet reduces the peak acceleration forces that are associated with injury. Many published epidemiological studies, including that by Maimaris and colleagues in this issue of the BMJ and the references it cites,2 find that helmets reduce injury and the risk of death. Such studies fall short . . . [Full text of this article]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Cycle helmets Deter people from cycling
R Keatinge and A Wachtel
BMJ 1994 309: 541-542. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Thompson, D C, Thompson, R S, Rivara, F P, Adams, J, Hillman, M (2002). Risk compensation theory should be subject to systematic reviews of the scientific evidence * The risk compensation theory and bicycle helmets. Inj. Prev. 8: e1-1 [Full text]  
  • Thompson, D C, Thompson, R S, Rivara, F P (2001). Risk compensation theory should be subject to systematic reviews of the scientific evidence. Inj. Prev. 7: 86-88 [Full text]  
  • Keatinge, R, Wachtel, A (1994). Cycle helmets Deter people from cycling. BMJ 309: 541a-542 [Full text]  
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ