The Cochrane review by Thompson, Thompson and Rivara found evidence that bicycle helmets protect cyclists in the event of an accident and recommended that cyclists should be encouraged to wear helmets. The issue of risk compensation is discussed in relation to whether the behaviour of cyclists changes as a consequence of wearing a helmet in ways that offset the protective benefit of helmets. A paper by Hedlund on risk compensation and individual behaviour suggested that cyclists would respond to measures that reduce the severity of the consequences of miscalculation. Rules for judging the circumstances in which behaviour might or might not change are applied to cycling. Risk compensation is discussed with reference to motorcycle helmets and seat belt legislation. The response from Thompson, Thompson and Rivara is included. Publisher's Note "Risk compensation theory should be subject to systematic reviews of the scientific evidence" (Thompson, Thompson, and Rivara) and "The risk compensation theory and bicycle helmets" (Adams and Hillman) plus authors' responses have been republished electronically in a different order at the authors' request to avoid any potential confusion. They can be found in June 2002 (Injury Prevention 2001;8:e1).
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