The impact of compulsory cycle helmet legislation on cyclist head injuries in New South Wales, Australia: a rejoinder.

This paper challenges the conclusion of a recent paper by Walter et al. (Accident Analysis and Prevention 2011, doi:10.1016/j.aap.2011.05.029) reporting that despite numerous data limitations repealing the helmet legislation in Australia could not be justified. This conclusion is not warranted because of the limited time period used in their analysis and the lack of data beyond a few years before the introduction of legislation, the failure to adequately account for the effect of the phasing in of the legislation, the effect of the marked reduction in child cyclists, and the non-comparability of the pedestrian and cycling injuries and related lack of consideration of the severity of head injuries. The extent to which helmet legislation deters people from cycling is discussed.

[1]  Unsustainable trends in the Australian Census Data for the journey to work in Melbourne and other cities in Victoria , 2004 .

[2]  Delia Hendrie,et al.  An economic evaluation of the mandatory bicycle helmet legislation in Western Australia , 1999 .

[3]  C. Rissel,et al.  The effects of bicycle helmet legislation on cycling-related injury: The ratio of head to arm injuries over time , 2010 .

[4]  R G Attewell,et al.  Bicycle helmet efficacy: a meta-analysis. , 2001, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[5]  C. Finch,et al.  BICYCLE USE AND HELMET WEARING RATES IN MELBOURNE, 1987-1992: THE INFLUENCE OF THE HELMET WEARING LAW , 1993 .

[6]  John Pucher,et al.  Making Walking and Cycling Safer: Lessons from Europe , 2000 .

[7]  Rune Elvik,et al.  Publication bias and time-trend bias in meta-analysis of bicycle helmet efficacy: a re-analysis of Attewell, Glase and McFadden, 2001. , 2011, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[8]  W J Curnow,et al.  Bicycle helmets and brain injury. , 2007, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[9]  Raphael Grzebieta,et al.  The impact of compulsory cycle helmet legislation on cyclist head injuries in New South Wales, Australia. , 2011, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[10]  H. Nijland,et al.  Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks? , 2010, Environmental health perspectives.

[11]  Piet de Jong.  The health impact of mandatory bicycle helmet laws , 2010 .

[12]  Tim Churches,et al.  Data and Graphing Errors in the Voukelatos and Rissel Paper , 2010 .

[13]  D. L. Robinson.  No clear evidence from countries that have enforced the wearing of helmets , 2006, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[14]  Alison Macpherson,et al.  Bicycle helmet legislation for the uptake of helmet use and prevention of head injuries. , 2008, The Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

[15]  Chris Rissel,et al.  Cycling to Work in Sydney: Analysis of Journey-To-Work Census Data from 2001 and 2011. , 2013 .

[16]  R Cuerden,et al.  The potential for cycle helmets to prevent injury - A review of the evidence , 2011 .

[17]  W J Curnow,et al.  Bicycle helmets: lack of efficacy against brain injury. , 2006, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[18]  A. Dannenberg,et al.  Walking and cycling to health: a comparative analysis of city, state, and international data. , 2010, American journal of public health.

[19]  D. L. Robinson,et al.  Bicycle helmet legislation: can we reach a consensus? , 2007, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[20]  Jessica Edquist,et al.  Driver Compliance with, and Understanding of, Level Crossing Controls , 2010 .

[21]  Hidde P van der Ploeg,et al.  Public health perspectives on household travel surveys active travel between 1997 and 2007. , 2010, American journal of preventive medicine.