Bicycle helmets reduce risk of serious head injury by nearly 70%, study finds

[KirstinS]

Bicycle helmets reduce risk of serious head injury by nearly 70%, study finds

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/22/bicycle-helmets-reduce-risk-of-serious-head-injury-by-nearly-70-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

 

[flecc]

From Australia again of course. Ever since they killed cycling by helmet compulsion so effectively that they ended up with the lowest rate of cycling in the world, they've been desperate to get the rest of the world to follow. Only 1% cycle there and still they have about 50 cyclist deaths annually, half as many as the UK with only a third of the population so they've nothing to teach us.

I'd rather the Dutch approach, don't bother wearing helmets and have the worlds highest cycling rate with 70% cycling, yet still with a very low accident rate.
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[oldtom]

I'd rather the Dutch approach, don't bother wearing helmets and have the worlds highest cycling rate with 70% cycling, yet still with a very low accident rate.
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Ditto that Flecc.

I think it may have something to do with an ingrained respect for other road users and pedestrians developed in childhood as so many cycle regularly in that country and from an early age.

Long may that continue!

Tom

 

[Geebee]

I'd rather the Dutch approach, don't bother wearing helmets and have the worlds highest cycling rate with 70% cycling, yet still with a very low accident rate.

This may interest you then, there are calls for helmet laws (and have been for many years) in the Netherlands due to deaths and injuries and that is with all their cycling infrastructure and traffic laws.
http://road.cc/content/news/142436-minister-rejects-call-helmets-be-made-compulsory-some-cyclists-netherlands

Australia has a problem with cycling infrastructure either a lack of or more dangerous than none plus driver attitude and the courts being way to lenient when cyclists are injured or killed.
The attitude to cyclists is changing but very slowly.

 

[flecc]

This may interest you then, there are calls for helmet laws (and have been for many years) in the Netherlands due to deaths and injuries and that is with all their cycling infrastructure and traffic laws.

Yes I know, but these calls have never been successful for obvious reasons, chiefly that their aim is more cycling and helmets kill that aim.

The greatest aid to safety for cyclists is not helmet wearing but more cycling. In round figures per annum for regular cyclists:

Australia with 1% cycling have 1 death per 4600 cyclists.

Britain with 3% cycling have 1 death per 17,700 cyclists.

London with 4.6% cycling has one death per 20,000 cyclists.

The Netherlands with 70% cycling have 1 death per 59,000 cyclists.

The lesson is very clear, get more people cycling, do everything to encourage that and don't do anything that impedes that.
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[anotherkiwi]

I read this and had a quiet chuckle because it is a study done by two statisticians who studied other studies to find a statistical trend. Their study was sponsored by people with an agenda and the result they returned was the one required. Which just goes to show you can make numbers do whatever you want them to... Nothing new here, please move along.

I am really enjoying my new helmet it is so comfortable, keeps my head cool, sunburn free and the visor is an awesome replacement for sunglasses which are always slipping down my nose with the vibrations of riding. Of course it also keeps me on the right side of the Spanish helmet law when I am on main roads.

I was just thinking of the times I have fallen off my bike, last time in June, and never once have I hit my head. Every time was a slow speed accident. I am all in favour of helmets for small children. And of course if I was into BMX or off-road riding http://www.xsportsprotective.com/collections/downhill-fullface-mountain-bike-helmets

 

[Smart eBiker]

I read this and had a quiet chuckle because it is a study done by two statisticians who studied other studies to find a statistical trend. Their study was sponsored by people with an agenda and the result they returned was the one required. Which just goes to show you can make numbers do whatever you want them to... Nothing new here, please move along.

I am really enjoying my new helmet it is so comfortable, keeps my head cool, sunburn free and the visor is an awesome replacement for sunglasses which are always slipping down my nose with the vibrations of riding. Of course it also keeps me on the right side of the Spanish helmet law when I am on main roads.

I was just thinking of the times I have fallen off my bike, last time in June, and never once have I hit my head. Every time was a slow speed accident. I am all in favour of helmets for small children. And of course if I was into BMX or off-road riding http://www.xsportsprotective.com/collections/downhill-fullface-mountain-bike-helmets

It's not you falling off it's you being hit, perhaps with a car, if unexpectedly your head would be like a rag doll, hitting a road or piece of metal at 30pm or even less could kill you.

Only 'it will never happen to me' fools ride on roads without helmets, they SHOULD be made compulsory, I would even have them CLEARLY showing a unique number relating to that registered cyclist, so if law were broken or they were riding dangerously they could be reported. Register a ALL cyclists NOW!

If third world countries can we can! And bring in compulsory tests before clowns on cycles are even allowed near a main road, THEY are the danger! What is the difference between a motor cyclist riding at 15.5mph and even faster up to the speed of racing cycles and cycles, the motorcyclist needs a test, will have more control as he has power to manoeuvre, compared to a deadly cyclist who at speed has little control or stopping power and probably isn't wearing a helmet!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yes I know, but these calls have never been successful for obvious reasons, chiefly that their aim is more cycling and helmets kill that aim.

The greatest aid to safety for cyclists is not helmet wearing but more cycling. In round figures per annum for regular cyclists:

Australia with 1% cycling have 1 death per 4600 cyclists.

Britain with 3% cycling have 1 death per 17,700 cyclists.

London with 4.6% cycling has one death per 20,000 cyclists.

The Netherlands with 70% cycling have 1 death per 59,000 cyclists.

The lesson is very clear, get more people cycling, do everything to encourage that and don't do anything that impedes that.
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Australia is different to those European countries. Without knowing where the cyclists were killed, it's not possible to make comparisons. Maybe they were all killed in the less-populated regions, where people fall asleep at the wheel.

Personally, I'm against compulsion, but I wear one most of the time. My head was saved after one severe crash that involved me landing on my head at a public event. The helmet was bashed in and I was still knocked senseless.

 

[Smart eBiker]

My head was saved after one severe crash that involved me landing on my head at a public event. The helmet was bashed in and I was still knocked senseless.

That makes sense, I will be more understanding to your responses now

 

[flecc]

Australia is different to those European countries. Without knowing where the cyclists were killed, it's not possible to make comparisons. Maybe they were all killed in the less-populated regions, where people fall asleep at the wheel.

The primary Australian problem for cyclists is as Australian Geebee says above, the way so many Australians drive.

However, my comparisons are valid since they are not about the nature of the accidents, they are about the effect helmet wearing has on cycling rates and how cycling rates affect driver attitudes. Due to the abundance of evidence it's long been accepted that cyclist accident rates drop as the incidence of cycling increases as this post above shows.
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[pn_day]

Interesting thread. I'm also against them being made mandatory as it may well reduce the numbers of cyclists like in Aus.

However, on a personal level I do always wear a helmet - had 2 big offs, the last one 3 weeks ago resulting in broken collar bone. In both cases I hit the back of my head on the ground hard enough to crack the helmet, but suffered no damage to my head.

YMMV. Make an informed choice, but be respectful of others. Now if this was about cycling without lights or reflectors I'd be less moderate in my views - this is illegal and dangerous.

 

[oldtom]

Personally, I'm against compulsion, but I wear one most of the time.

That's similar to my position on the matter except in my case, the word 'most' is substituted by 'some'.

Tom

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That makes sense, I will be more understanding to your responses now

I was lucky because there's lots of room in my head for the brain cell to rattle around. Somebody with a scull-full would probably have ended up as a vegetable or nuts. Did you ever bang your head that hard?

 

[Croxden]

I was lucky because there's lots of room in my head for the brain cell to rattle around. Somebody with a scull-full would probably have ended up as a vegetable or nuts. Did you ever bang your head that hard?

More than once I'd say.

 

[oldtom]

More than once I'd say.

Ditto here! I still have the scars but only my barber sees them.

Tom

 

[Deleted member 18370]

As a long time motorcyclist, I have to wear a helmet (and a much better one than a cycle helmet). Given the choice, I would still wear a helmet-one saved my face in June when I crashed-at 15mph on oil. I also wear protective gear-armoured trousers, boots, gloves, jacket.

On the new to me E bike, I wear a cycle helmet and summer motorcycling gloves. If I could find a way of wearing more protective clothing without it getting in the way, I would. I'm working on it.

Do I advocate compulsory helmets for bicycles? Nope, but compulsory 3rd party insurance for over 18 year olds would be good.

BTW, which is more dangerous, cycling or motorcycling? Answer-both the same, with about X37 risk of being killed over a car driver. The most dangerous form of transport? Riding a horse.

 

[anotherkiwi]

There is a statistic we never see:

What percentage of Australian cycling fatalities were wearing a helmet? What injuries did they die from?

 

[flecc]

There is a statistic we never see:

What percentage of Australian cycling fatalities were wearing a helmet? What injuries did they die from?

Helmets are compulsory there and that's rigidly enforced by their police, so all or virtually all would have been wearing helmets.

As Australian member Geebee said above, the problem there is the way Australians drive, to which I'd add their very low incidence of cyclists.

Out of sight means out of mind, but when there's bikes everywhere as in the Central London rush hour and The Netherlands, drivers are always very aware of them so far less likely to be in collision.
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