BICYCLE HELMET
RESEARCH
FOUNDATION
cyclehelmets.org
Home page
Main topics
News Headlines
Frequently asked Questions
For Policy Makers
Research evidence
Misleading claims
Helmet laws
Analysis
Search Engine
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
UK
USA
Other countries
Full index
Links
BHRF
Policy statement
The Case for Not Wearing a Bike Helmet
Helmets have been mandatory in the pro peloton for well over a decade. Where’s the data that it’s helping?
read more ...
Bicycle Network campaigns for helmet law reform
Australia's Bicycle Network has come out in favour of reforming Australia's mandatory bicycle helmet law.
read more ...
Cycling Tips: Commentary
Commentary: Why I stopped wearing a bike helmet
by Peter Flax
read more ...
Bicycling Magazine
It’s Okay If You Don’t Wear a Bike Helmet
read more ...
Carlton Reid, transport writer
I Do Not Wear A Bicycle Helmet
read more ...
More on Why We Shouldn't Have Mandatory Helmet Laws
Over on VOX, Joseph Stromberg rounds up the studies about bike helmets and concludes that if you want to get more people to ride bikes, then you shoul
read more ...
Give Kids Bikes, Not Helmets
Why helmet giveaways are an act of surrender
read more ...
Enough with the Smashed Watermelons! Helmet Mania Is Scaring Kids Away from Biking
Free Range Kids
read more ...
According to the University of Sydney, claims that cycle use in Australia has recovered from the falls brought about by helmet laws are a myth.
The study, published in the journal World Transport Policy and Practice, demonstrates that on a per capita basis there were 37.5 percent fewer Australians riding bikes in 2011 than in 1985-86. Population growth has been three times that of recent increases in cycling trips.
While Australia's reported cycling 'boom' over the past decade has seen increasing numbers of cyclists, there has been an effective decline in per capita cycling participation over 25 years, according to the study.
"If even just 10 percent more people were cycling instead of driving at any given time, traffic congestion would be significantly reduced on Australian roads with a commensurate reduction in risk to motorists, pedestrians and cyclists," Professor Rissel, from the University's School of Public Health, said.
The health benefits from recreational exercise and environmental gains from reduced CO2 emissions would also be substantial, he added.
"The most likely major deterrent to more people cycling is helmet legislation, which is a significant feature of the cycling environment in Australia."
"Well over half a million more Australians could be riding bicycles if we didn't have mandatory helmet laws, according to research I conducted last year which showed one in five adults surveyed in Sydney said they would ride a bicycle more if they did not have to wear a helmet," Professor Rissel said.
Australia has a low cycling rate compared with most countries and the international consensus is that the mandatory bicycle helmet laws, introduced in 1990-1992, are a significant contributor to this lack of participation.
Thu 28 Jun 2012
