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Introduction and scope
The Victoria helmet law came into effect
from July 1990. It applies to all ages.
The penalty for adults not wearing a
'securely fitted approved bicycle helmet', is usually a Bicycle Offence Penalty
Notice, which is a fine. Children receive a Bicycle Offence Report, which is a
letter to their parents, without monetary penalty.
Compliance and enforcement
Introduction of the law resulted in a
rise in cycle helmet use from 31% to 75% of cyclists.
The Victoria law is
strictly enforced. In its first year 19,229 Bicycle Offence Penalty Notices and
5,028 Bicycle Offence Reports were issued. This represented 2.6% of all traffic offence notices, proportionally higher per kilometre than all other traffic offence notices together [6]. Even in the law's third year of operation, 86% of all traffic offences by cyclists were instancs of not wearing a helmet [7].
In 2003 Victoria Police said that
they still issue around 20,000 Bicycle Offence Penalty Notices a year. On 8th
May 1996, Kathy Francis was imprisoned for 24 hours for not paying fines for not
wearing a helmet. She was 40 years of age and 6 months pregnant at the time.
Effect on casualties
Admissions in the first four years of
helmet legislation were 40% below the number expected on the basis of
pre-legislation trends. However, there was no difference in the percentage
with head injury, compared to what would have been expected without the law [4]. In the first two years of the law % head injury for
cyclists fell by only 1.7 percentage points, whereas % head injury for
pedestrians (without helmets) fell by 2.5 percentage points. The gains in
pedestrian safety have been attributed to general road safety initiatives which
would also have benefited cyclists. It is therefore not possible to attribute
any reduction in head injuries to the helmet law.
In Melbourne the number of
cyclists sustaining severe injuries other than to the head was 4% and 12% lower
in the first two post-law years compared with pre-law [5].
These reductions are much less than the reduction in the number of cyclists and
suggests that overall safety was reduced.
Effect on cycle use
Bicycle use by children aged 5-17 decreased
by 36% from May/June 1990 to May/June 1991 [1]. There were
further falls to May/June 1992 in Melbourne, with teenage cycling showing by
then a 46% decrease from pre-law levels [2].
3.4% of trips
in Melbourne were by bicycle in 1985-6. The latest data available in 2004 shows
that this is now 2.0%. [3]
Cost benefit
Data published before introducing the helmet law
indicated that there would be a benefit. However, it did not consider cycling
being discouraged or other effects. There has been no post-law cost-benefit
analysis.
References and related studies
[1] Cameron, M, Heiman, L, Neiger, D. Evaluation
of the bicycle helmet wearing law in Victoria during its first 12 months.
Report No. 32, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Melbourne, July 1992.
[2] Finch, CF, Heiman, L, Neiger, D. Bicycle use and
helmet wearing rates in Melbourne, 1987 to 1992: the influence of the helmet
wearing law. Monash University, Accident
Research Centre report no. 45, February 1993, pp. 35, 36, 43.
[3]
Australia bicycle ownership and use. Australian Bicycle Council, 2004. 
[4] Carr D, Dyte D, Cameron MH Evaluation of the Bicycle Helmet Wearing
Law in Victoria during its First Four Years. 1995 Monash University Accident Research Centre Report 76 
[5] Cameron M,
Newstead S, Vulcan P, Finch C. Effects of the compulsory
bicycle helmet wearing law in Victoria during its first three years. 1994. Monash University Accident Research Centre.
[6] King M, Fraine G. Bicycle helmet legislation and enforcement in
Queensland 1991-3: Effects on helmet wearing and crashes. Road User Behaviour Section, Queensland Transport, June 1993.
[7] Vic Police target unhelmeted cyclists. Australian Cyclist, December 1993 p.17.
[-]
Morgan M, Peberdy J,
Rogerson P. Bicycle helmet usage rates in Victoria, 1990 - 1991. 1991 Vic Roads Report GR91-9 ISBN 073061381X
[-] Vulcan AP, Cameron MH,
Watson WL. Mandatory
bicycle helmet use: experience in Victoria, Australia. 1992 World Journal of Surgery 1992;16:389-397
[-] Finch CF, Newstead SV, Cameron MH, Vulcan
AP. Head injury reductions in Victoria two years after introduction of
mandatory bicycle helmet use. 1993 Monash University Accident Research Centre Report 51
[-] Vulcan AP, Cameron
MH, Heiman L. Mandatory bicycle helmet use - Victoria, Australia. 1993 Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 1993;42(18):359-363
[-] Cameron M, Finch C, Vulcan
P. The Protective Peformance of Bicycle Helmets introduced at the same
time as the Bicycle Helmet Wearing Law in Victoria. 1994 Monash University Accident Research Centre Report 59
[-] Newstead SV, Cameron MH, Gantzer S, Finch
CF. Bicyclist Head Injuries in Victoria Three Years after the Introduction
of Mandatory Helmet Use. 1994 Monash University Accident Research Centre Report 75
[-] Cameron MH, Vulcan AP, Finch CF, Newstead
SV. Mandatory bicycle helmet use following a decade of helmet promotion in
Victoria, Australia - an evaluation. 1994 Accident Analysis & Prevention 1994;26(3):325-337
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