"Bicycle helmets are 85- to 88- percent effective in mitigating head and brain injuries, making the use of helmets the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes"
"Universal bicycle helmet use by children 4 to 15 would prevent 39,000 to 45,000 head injuries, and 18,000 to 55,000 scalp and face injuries annually".
Source:
2008 Traffic Safety Facts
"A review of international research on cycle helmets by the University of Newcastle concluded that there is considerable scientific evidence that cycle helmets are effective in reducing the incidence and severity of head and brain injuries, and that there are even greater safety benefits for child cyclists [1]. Another review (which looked at five academic studies, and is cited by the British Medical Association as being particularly reliable) concluded that helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 85%, brain injury by 88% and severe brain injury by 75% "
"A helmet dramatically reduces the risk of skull fracture when a cyclist’s head hits something. It also reduces their chances of concussion and helps to protect their head from cuts and scrapes".
"The British Medical Association (BMA) recommends that all cyclists, but especially children, wear a helmet, and supports a law making helmet wearing compulsory [4]. The World Health Organisation promotes helmet wearing as a key way to reduce head injuries among cyclists".
" helmet wearing reduced head injuries by between 24-32% in non-motor vehicle crashes, and by 20% in motor vehicle crashes".
"Canada, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Spain and some states in the US and Australia have introduced similar legislation. Many have concluded through academic research that there has been a reduction in head injuries among cyclists through increased helmet wearing".
Source: http://www.brake.org.uk/facts/why-cycle-helmets-save-lives.htm (links all original sources inside site).
"Predicts helmets would reduce concussions by 29%, skull fractures by 82%"
"Of 42 cyclists over 3 years not wearing helmets who were killed (all causes, not just head injuries), 6 may have survived if they had been wearing a helmet. For 21 of the cyclists a helmet would probably have made no difference".
"
Own data suggests helmets give 25% reduction in risk of head injury for adults, but no reduction for other serious injuries. Adjusting Thompson results to eliminate forehead lacerations, re-calculated benefit is 61% (instead of 85%). Also noted small sample size in Thompson data".
"Potential of 63% reduction in all head injuries to children under 14 years"
"
Deduced increased risk factor of 2.95 if motor vehicle involved, and 3.25 protection factor for wearing a helmet".
"Concluded that helmets decrease risk of head injury by 69%, brain injury by 65% and severe brain injury by 74%. Helmets work equally well for all age groups, and in crashes with and without motor vehicles (which are most important risk factor for serious injury). Substantial protection provided against lacerations and fractures to upper and mid-face, but not to lower face. Hard shell helmets may offer greatest protection against severe brain injury"
"clear evidence that helmets reduce head and facial injuries for cyclists of all ages in all types of crashes".
Source: http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/helmet_research.html (links all original sources inside site).
"Less than two percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. The most serious injuries among a majority of those killed are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet.
Helmet use has been estimated to reduce head injury risk by 85 percent".
"95% of bicyclists killed in 2006 reportedly were not wearing helmets".
Source:
http://www.bhsi.org/quick.htm (original sources inside)
- "Helmets decreased the risk of head injury by 69 percent, brain injury by 65 percent, and severe brain injury by 74 percent. These results, using emergency room controls, are the same as the results obtained in our 1989 study. Had it been possible to use population controls in the current study, the overall protectiveness rate of 85 percent for head injury and 88 percent for brain injury reported in our prior work would in all likelihood have been obtained.
- Helmets work equally well in all age groups examined. There is no evidence supporting the need for a separate standard for young children.
- Helmets were equally effective in protecting cyclists in crashes involving motor vehicles and those not involving motor vehicles.
- Helmets provide substantial protection against lacerations and fractures to the upper- and mid- face, but appear to offer little protection to the lower face.
- Involvement in a motor-vehicle crash was the most important risk factor for serious injury.
- Hard-shell, thin-shell and no-shell helmets had similar protective qualities. Hard-shell helmets, however, may offer greater protection against severe brain injury.
- The major site of helmet damage was to the rim in the frontal region".
Source: http://www.smf.org/docs/articles/report.html (Snell).
"Approximately three-quarters of the head and brain injuries among cyclists are caused by crashes that do not involve motorized traffic; as many as nine out of ten young children who sustain head/brain injury, do so in crashes not involving motor vehicles. These are mostly cyclist-only crashes. This type of crash is difficult to prevent, but it is possible to limit the severity of the head and brain injury by wearing a bicycle helmet. According to the most recent estimate (Elvik, 2011), the risk of sustaining head injury is 1.72 times higher for cyclists who do not wear a bicycle helmet than for the cyclists who do, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.33-3.45. For brain injury, the risk seems to be 2.13 times higher (with a confidence interval of 1.33-3.45)"
"In a large-scale study, Hynd et al. (2009) investigated the possible effects the bicycle helmet may have on injury prevention. They used a literature study, in-depth research, biomechanical studies into the possible limitations of the bicycle helmet, and an evaluation study of the way in which helmets are tested and approved. They conclude that the bicycle helmet – if properly fitted and correctly worn – should be effective in reducing the risk of head/brain injury. They also say that a bicycle helmet will be especially effective for children as the drop height is smaller for children than for adults"
Source: http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheets/UK/FS_Bicycle_helmets.pdf
