- HELMET WARS
- [Better
get your waders on. Make that a rubber suit.]
-
-
- THE
BRITISH HELMET CURMUDGEONS: CYCLEHELMETS.ORG The threat of mandatory helmet laws for adults
in England has spawned the helmet skeptics. An impressive list
of articles presented and/or skewered.
-
- "BICYCLE HELMETS: IT'S TIME TO
USE THEM"
Link to editorial by well-known pro-helmet researchers Thompson,
Rivara and Thompson, 2000.
-
- A CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF BICYCLE HELMETS Abstract of the widely-cited 1989 article by
Thompson, Rivara and Thompson from the New England Journal
of Medicine. Even if it's good data (which is highly debatable)
does data concerning child bicyclists transfer to adults?
-
- EFFECTIVENESS OF BICYCLE SAFETY HELMETS
IN PREVENTING HEAD INJURIES Thompson, Rivara and Thompson, JAMA, 1996
(Abstract on JAMA site).
-
- THE EFFICACY OF BICYCLE HELMETS AGAINST
BRAIN INJURY
Curnow, Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2003. (Short
abstract on sciencedirect.com.)
-
- TRENDS IN SERIOUS HEAD INJURIES AMONG
CYCLISTS IN ENGLAND Interesting data from the 1990s showing decreasing
head injury rate among wrecked riders could easily be explained
by other factors besides helmets.
-
- A DECREASE IN BICYCLE-RELATED HEAD INJURIES
IN HELMET WEARING AGES IN SWEDEN (Abstract) Authors of 2007 article would like to ascribe
a decrease in head injuries among Swedish children to increased
helmet use; the fact that head injuries increased among adults
during the same period won't stop them from doing just that.
See this 2005
article which showed helmet use among all Swedes was increasing.
-
- HELMET
LAWS AND CYCLE USE (pdf) Article from Injury Prevention, 2003,
by D.L. Robinson, Macpherson, Parkin and To.
-
- EFFECTIVENESS
OF HELMET LEGISLATION TO INCREASE HELMET USE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
(pdf)
2006 article from Injury Prevention by Karkhaneh, et al.
-
- CYCLE HELMETS: THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST Abstract of Meyer Hillman's
1993 article.
-
- EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BICYCLE INJURY, HEAD
INJURY, AND HELMET USE AMONG CHILDREN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA By Linn, Smith and
Sheps. Abstract and full text on the Injury Prevention
journal site. More kid data.
-
- NO CLEAR EVIDENCE FROM COUNTRIES WITH
MANDATORY HELMET LAWS 2006 article by D.L. Robinson on BMJ site.
See also Riley Geary's letter to BMJ.
-
- CHANGES IN HEAD INJURY WITH THE NEW
ZEALAND BICYCLE HELMET LAW Abstract of article by D.L. Robinson, 2000 (on
sciencedirect.com).
-
- NEW
ZEALAND BICYCLE HELMET LAW: DO THE COSTS OUTWEIGH THE BENEFITS
(pdf)
2002 article by Scuffham and Taylor, Injury Prevention.
-
- TRENDS IN CYCLE INJURY IN NEW ZEALAND
UNDER VOLUNTARY HELMET USE Scuffham and Langley, Accident Analysis and
Prevention, 1997.
-
- INTENDED AND UNINTENDED EFFECTS OF YOUTH BICYCLE
HELMET LAWS (pdf)
2007 paper by Carpenter and Stehr.
-
- THE WALKER HELMET/PASSING DISTANCE STUDY Abstract of the most
talked-about cycling-related research in decades. 2007.
-
- ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT BICYCLE HELMETS
FOR THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE ROTATIONAL INJURY Abstract of 2007 article
by Chinn and St. Clair.
-
- OBLIQUE IMPACT TESTING OF BICYCLE HELMETS Abstract of 2007 article
by Mills and Gilchrist in the International Journal of Impact
Engineering.
-
- RISKY
BUSINESS: SAFETY REGULATIONS, RISK COMPENSATION AND INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOR (pdf)
2000 article by James Hedlund, Injury Prevention.
-
- THE RISK COMPENSATION THEORY AND BICYCLE
HELMETS
Link to 2001 article by Adams and Hillman.
|
NOTE: A page like this should
come with its own desalinization plant considering all the grains
of salt that need to be taken with the inconclusive and generally
stinky statistics presented here. Suffice to say that anyone
heard to be drawing solid conclusions based on such surveys and
studies as these is likely to be terribly wrong as well as deserving
of a vigorous forehead slap. Be very careful with these and other
publications that attempt to quantify the danger of cycling,
of particular facilities, etc. Now get out there and twist twist
twist those results to suit your various agenda, and remember,
this is just a small fraction of the total amount of research
out there.
