Compulsory bicycle helmets in New Zealand

"There is no evidence that mandatory helmets reduced cyclist injuries/hospital admissions relative to overall road safety trends, despite the law causing a 51% reduction in public cycling participation and an average 90% of remaining cyclists wearing helmets." - Ross Miller

Interesting study. I didn't realize helmets were that large of a barrier to biking for some people. I don't feel like I would bike more if a helmet weren't required, but apparently a decent number of would be bikers decide not to bike at all if a helmet is required. It was also interesting to see how the requirement to wear a helmet is working against city bike share programs in NZ. - Ross Miller

Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. Some people feel like hat hair is more devastating to them than a major head injury. @@ - Spidra Webster

I certainly don't bike because of the helmets. I'm not carrying around a helmet everywhere I go, so I skip the bike renting facilities, and either walk or drive instead. - Amit Patel

That's strange. Seems like the big barrier to cycling is getting a bike, and if you're already having to acquire that, having to also get a helmet shouldn't pose much additional discouragement. I think there may be other reasons why bike usage has gone down (and the page points out that the obesity rate in NZ goes up at the same time). But that's separate from the question of whether or not bike helmets prevent injuries. I guess the data shows helmets increase injury. That seems very strange to me. - Stephen Mack

So, as a novice biker, should I wear a helmet or not? I feel safer when I wear it, but I guess that's the problem. By feeling safer, I unconsciously take more risks. - Stephen Mack

Helmets don't necessarily prevent injury, but they do seem to decrease the severity of the injury. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr... I imagine it's like seat belts. They probably don't do much to decrease the incidence of car crashes, but they do a lot to keep people from being killed. - Victor Ganata

Stephen, I think you should wear a helmet. When I cycle I basically believe that everyone is out to get me and that I have to be the one to make sure I'm safe. I don't think wearing a helmet makes me think I'm at all safe, conscious or unconscious, and I actively try to ensure that I protect myself. - Ken Gidley

Wear it, Stephen. It probably won't help you if a car hits you (although sometimes it does....depends on the speed/type of crash) but it's perfectly possible to have accidents all by yourself on the bike. A bee flew into my helmet and while freaking out, I jacknifed into my own under-seat steered recumbent frame and fell to the ground. My head hit the ground but I was able to ride away from that. I would have had a concussion had I not had a helmet. My sister went over her handlebars just going out of our driveway because she hadn't seen a car coming and had to brake suddenly. - Spidra Webster

Related: Bike helmets and safety: a case study in difficult epidemiology - Boing Boing http://boingboing.net/2013... - Victor Ganata

Yeah, I'm pretty sure a helmet saved my sister's life after she got hit by a car going probably around 35 mph. She lost consciousness and had to be transported by ambulance, but mostly she just had a lot of bruises and scrapes and no severe head injury. The helmet got obliterated, though. Imagining that amount of force to an unhelmeted head gives me the heebie-jeebies. - Victor Ganata

Even if the number of injuries didn't change or even increased, the drop in percentage of fatal accidents still seems to support the contention that it might be a good idea to wear a helmet. About 90% of fatal bicycle accidents are due to head injuries in the U.S. I wonder if NZ's numbers are substantially different? - Victor Ganata

I wish I could find the PSA, but there was a PSA done by a British pro cyclist who had been going from coast to coast in the US. A pickup truck buzzed him and he was hit in the head at a high speed by the rear-view mirror. He sustained a head injury that he had to do a lot of rehab to overcome but he is adamant that he wouldn't even be alive had he not been wearing a helmet. A lot of anti-helmet cyclists say a helmet does no good in a crash with a car but they're being too absolutist about it. - Spidra Webster

I can't help but be morbid and wonder if the reason why the increase in number of hospital discharges isn't almost entirely because of the decrease in number of transfers to the morgue. - Victor Ganata

If people won't bike cause they HAVE to wear a simple piece of equipment that helps to protect them, then I'm glad they don't ride anymore. Says a lot about the attitude of the person. - Johnny

Someone found the guy for me. Unfortunately, while a helmet saved his life, it's not an entirely happy story. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news... Still, he advocates that people wear their helmets. http://www.youtube.com/watch... - Spidra Webster

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