Bicycle helmet use in the United States has remained low despite clear demonstration of its beneficial effect on reducing the incidence of serious head injury. Several interventions have been reported, with variable results and costs. Much of the recent literature has focussed on child cyclists and on demographic factors associated with helmet use. This paper reports on helmet use by children and adults in a sample of 652 riders in an affluent southeast Michigan region, chosen to minimize the effect of previously recognized socioeconomic negative predictors that are not readily changed by intervention. Subjects were classified by age, sex, location, riding surface, type of bicycle, child bicycle seat use, child bicycle trailer use, and helmet use by companions. The results of this study are discussed.
Abstract