Motorcycle helmets and rider safety: A legislative crisis. J Public Health Policy. Lowy J. Motorcycle injuries worsen with weaker helmet law: Study. Huffington Post. May 30, American Motorcyclist Association. AMA position in support of voluntary helmet use. Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Sixth Edition. New York Court of Appeals. Schloendorff v. The Society of New York Hospital. Jones MM, Bayer R.
Am J Public Health. Cherry RA. Repeal of the Pennsylvania motorcycle helmet law: Reflections on the ethical and political dynamics of public health reform. BMC Public Health. Accessed July 16, Institute of Medicine. Committee for the Study of the Future of Public Health. The Future of Public Health. Washington: National Academy Press; Donorcycles: Do motorcycle helmet laws reduce organ donations?
A study of the quality of life and cost-utility of renal transplantation. Kidney Int. Beauchamp T. In: Reich W. Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Mill JS. John M. Holguin J. Smokers need not apply here. CBS News. Fineman N. The social construction of noncompliance: A study of health care and social service providers in everyday practice. Bike helmets have the greatest effect in accidents in single-bicycle accidents than when the bike rider crashes with a motor vehicle.
Single-bike accidents occur in lots of ways: For example when you skid on slippery roads, brake too hard and take a tumble, do a front flip when a shopping bag swinging from your handlebars snags in your spokes, not to mention all the other lessons you can learn about the laws of motion while trying to avoid crashing into a garbage bin or a telephone pole. Most kids in Norway, 87 percent, use helmets when riding their bikes according to a study from In the corresponding share had been 63 percent.
In the same period, helmet usage among adults rose from 32 percent to 56 percent. The new study shows that the protective effect of bicycle helmets is the same for children and adults.
But the results show no differences in this respect; bike helmets are equally important for adults and children. Many countries have laws requiring the use of bicycle helmets, including Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. It is mandatory in Sweden too, but only for children. The issue has been debated back and forth in Norway. Earlier research showed that the use of helmets did not lead to fewer accidents. Helmet exchanges are also expensive for bike-share companies, who must sanitize and safety check helmets between uses, which limits their financial capacity to add stations and expand their geographic service range widely enough to build ridership.
One of the greatest protections bikers have on the road is their sheer safety in numbers, and a helmet law that discourages biking will inadvertently increase the risks to cyclists.
When drivers are accustomed to seeing cyclists, they are more likely to notice them, to check their blind spots, and to be careful when changing lanes and making turns. A study by the American Journal of Public Health showed the overall rate of injuries among cyclists declined by 28 percent, and head injuries by 14 percent, in cities that added bike shares, regardless of helmet requirements.
In its first year, , the CitiBike bike-share generated 8. Cyclists are much less likely to suffer severe head injuries in areas with marked bike lanes and a regular presence of other cyclists.
Thanks to CitiBike and infrastructure improvements, this trend continues today, and adding a mandatory helmet law now could disrupt this progress towards safety in numbers.
Rebecca Smith is a MPH degree candidate. She enjoys biking on the Hudson River Greenway yes, she wears a helmet.
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