Search

Presents a study, the objectives of which are to examine the protective effectiveness of bicycle helmets in four different age groups of bicyclists, in crashes involving motor vehicles, and by helmet type and certification standards. Research design; Setting; Participants; Main results; Conclusions.

To assess the effect of a community-wide bicycle helmet campaign on helmet use, we observed 9827 children riding bicycles at sites in high-, middle-, and low-income census tracts in Seattle, Wash (intervention city), and Portland, Ore (control city); observations were made during 2-week intervals before and 4, 12, and 16 months after the campaign's start. Helmet use increased from 5.5% before the campaign to 15.7% afterward in Seattle and from 1.0% to 2.9% in Portland. Strong associations were found between helmet use and white compared with black or other race; riding geared vs nongeared bicycles; riding at playgrounds, in parks, or on bicycle paths vs on city streets; and riding with adults or other children compared with riding alone. The proportions of helmet wearers, adjusted for these variables, increased from 4.6% to 14.0% in Seattle and from 1.0% to 3.6% in Portland, a significantly greater increase in use in Seattle compared with Portland. We conclude that a community-wide bicycle helmet campaign can increase helmet use among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rebuts criticism of a previous study on motorcycle helmet-use laws through a reanalysis with improved measured of exposure, stratification for regional differences in crash risk, and addressing of total motorcycle-related mortality. Methods; Results; Conclusion.

Objective: To estimate the potential benefits from more widespread bicycle safety helmet use.Design: Review of death certificates and emergency department injury data for 1984 through 1988. Categorization of deaths and injuries as related to bicycling and head injury. Using relative risks of 3.85 and 6.67 derived from a case-control study and varying helmet usage from 10% to 100%, population attributable risk was calculated to estimate preventable deaths and injuries.Setting: Entire United States.Main Outcome Measures: Numbers of US residents coded as dying from bicycle-related head injuries, numbers of persons presenting to emergency departments for bicycle-related head injuries, and numbers of attributable bicycle-related deaths and head injuries.Main Results: From 1984 through 1988, bicycling accounted for 2985 head injury deaths (62% of all bicycling deaths) and 905,752 head injuries (32% of persons with bicycling injuries treated at an emergency department). Forty-one percent of head injury deaths and 76% of head injuries occurred among children less than 15 years of age. Universal use of helmets by all bicyclists could have prevented as many as 2500 deaths and 757,000 head injuries, ie, one death every day and one head injury every 4 minutes.Conclusions: Effective community-based education programs and legislated approaches for increasing bicycle safety helmet usage have been developed and await only the resources and commitment to reduce these unnecessary deaths and injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offers information on protecting against head injuries. Types of head injuries; Serious effects of head injuries; Symptoms; How to obtain more information.