The Netherlands Transport Research Centre (AVV) of the Ministry of Transport commissioned the SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research to gather knowledge about the possibilities for promoting voluntary use of bicycle helmets in the Netherlands. This report details three studies: (1) a literature study of the developments abroad; (2) a study of the potential contribution of various parties and organisations towards promoting the use of helmets; and (3) an interview study carried out amongst some potential cyclist target groups. The government could support the following activities in order to promote helmet use in the Netherlands: (i) research, namely: accident study, market-oriented study, and product study; (ii) local projects in which the cycle helmet is promoted as a means of intervention such as: special price offers, cycle promotion teams, and local safety projects; (iii) traffic education with special attention given to the cycle helmet; and (iv) development of special facilities in order to enable storage of the helmet. In the short term, it would seem that in particular special price offers, perhaps in combination with education campaigns, offer the best means of promoting helmet use. In the longer term, the promotion of helmet use would certainly be served by product assessment and improvement, and by the development of special facilities.
Abstract