On 1 July 1990, a law requiring wearing of an approved safety helmet by all bicyclists came into effect in Victoria, Australia. There was an immediate increase in average helmet wearing rates from 31% in March 1990 to 75% in March 1991. The number of insurance claims from bicyclists killed or admitted to hospital after sustaining a head injury had decreased by 66% in Melbourne and 70% Victoria-wide two years after the law. Analysis of the injury data also showed a 16% and 23% reduction in the number of bicyclists killed or admitted to hospital who did not sustain head injuries two years after the law in metropolitan Melbourne and the whole of Victoria, respectively. The proportion of all injured cases with a head injury in 1992 was significantly less than that projected on the basis of continuing pre-law trends. The mechanisms by which this reduction was achieved seem to be twofold: a reduction in the number of bicyclists involved in crashes resulting in severe injury and a reduction in the risk of head injury for bicyclists who were severely injured. (Author/publisher)
Abstract