CAN A COMBINATION OF LOCAL, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL INFORMATION SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE BICYCLE-HELMET WEARING AND REDUCE INJURIES - EXPERIENCES FROM SWEDEN
R. Ekman et al., CAN A COMBINATION OF LOCAL, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL INFORMATION SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE BICYCLE-HELMET WEARING AND REDUCE INJURIES - EXPERIENCES FROM SWEDEN, Accident analysis and prevention, 29(3), 1997, pp. 321-328
Is it possible to substantially reduce the incidence of injuries relat
ed to cycling through the provision of information on helmet wearing?
This issue has been investigated in Skaraborg County, Sweden, where 90
percent of all pre-school children now use bicycle helmets. For child
ren under 15, there was an average annual decrease in all bicycle-rela
ted injuries of 3.1 percent, equivalent to a decrease of 48 percent ov
er the study period, 1978-93 (for head injuries, 59%). Sweden as a who
le showed a reduction of 32 percent in bicycle-related injuries (head
injuries, 43%). In Skaraborg, children have been the target of helmet-
wearing programs at local and regional levels since 1982, and at natio
nal level since 1987. The elderly have not been targeted in helmet-wea
ring programs; currently, they scarcely wear helmets at all, and showe
d a significant increase in their injury rate over the period (4.7% an
nually). The number of concussions sustained by helmet-wearers is esti
mated to be one-third fewer than that of non-wearers. Comparisons with
Australia and some parts of the U.S.A. indicate that, despite the sig
nificant decrease in Skaraborg, greater effects might be achievable if
information is supplemented by compulsory-helmet-wearing legislation.
(C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.