Originally Posted by
SPlKE
I guess I'd want to know how many bike crashes they have in the netherlands, and what types of bike crashes the have, compared to the US -- speed of the bike and any other vehicles involved in the crash, specific nature of bodily impacts sustained during the crash -- that sort of thing.
Otherwise, the correlation may be specious.
From the Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research:
Dutch cycling casualty statistics and the measures that have affected them:
http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheet...S_Cyclists.pdf
and from the same Institute:
One third (32%) of the seriously injured
cyclists that are admitted to hospital are diagnosed
with head or brain injury. Approximately
three-quarters of the head or brain injuries are
caused by crashes that do not involve motorized
traffic...
Research has shown that a bicycle helmet offers
protection against sustaining serious head or
brain injury in crashes. The most reliable estimates
indicate that at speeds of up to 20 km/h
helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 42%,
the risk of brain injury by 53%, and the risk of
facial injury by 17%, whereas they increase the
risk of neck injury by 32%. These estimates are
partly based on research carried out in countries
like the United States and Australia, where
standards for bicycle helmets are stricter than
they are in Europe and can offer protection at
higher impact speeds.
http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Ss_RA/RA47.pdf (lots of interesting data and articles contained within this publication, including a bit about external car airbags designed to protect pedestrians hit by cars!)
and, similarly,
One third of the cyclists who are admitted to hospital with serious injury after a road crash are diagnosed with head or brain injury. Approximately three-quarters of the head and brain injuries among cyclists are caused by crashes that do not involve motorized traffic; as many as nine out of ten young children who sustain head/brain injury, do so in crashes not involving motor vehicles. These are mostly cyclist-only crashes. This type of crash is difficult to prevent, but it is possible to limit the severity of the head and brain injury by wearing a bicycle helmet. According to the most recent and sound estimate, the risk of sustaining head injury is reduced by as much as 42% when a good bicycle helmet is worn correctly; the risk of sustaining brain injury is then reduced by 53%.
Research has shown that a bicycle helmet provides protection against serious head and brain injury. The best estimates that are presently available indicate that the use of bicycle helmets decreases the risk proportion of sustaining or not sustaining head injury by 42%, that of sustaining or not sustaining brain injury by 53%, that of sustaining or not sustaining facial injury by17%, whereas the odds ratio for sustaining or not sustaining does on the other hand increase by 32%. These effect estimates are partly based on American and Australian studies, countries that use stricter standards for bicycle helmets than Europe.
An argument that is often heard against compulsory helmet use is that it would reduce the use of bicycles. International research indicates that this effect sometimes occurs, especially during the first couple of years after the introduction of compulsory helmet use. The long-term effects, as well as the significance of these findings for the Netherlands are unknown.
All in all, the SWOV concludes that a bicycle helmet is an effective means of protecting cyclists from sustaining head and brain injury in a fall with a bicycle.
http://www.swov.nl/rapport/Factsheet...le_helmets.pdf