The effectiveness of bicyclist helmets: a study of 1710 casualties

J Trauma. 1993 Jun;34(6):834-44; discussion 844-5. doi: 10.1097/00005373-199306000-00015.

Abstract

During the 1980s, a sustained campaign increased the rates of helmet use of Victorian bicyclists. The efficacy of helmet use was evaluated by comparison of crashes and injuries (AIS-1985) in 366 helmeted (261 Australian Standard approved and 105 non-approved) and 1344 unhelmeted casualties treated from 1987 through 1989 at Melbourne and Geelong hospitals or dying before hospitalization. Head injury (HI) occurred in 21.1% of wearers of approved helmets and in 34.8% of non-wearers (p < 0.001). The AIS scores were decreased for wearers of approved helmets (p < 0.001), face injuries were reduced (p < 0.01), and extremity/pelvic girdle injuries increased (p < 0.001) and the overall risk of HI was reduced by at least 39% and face injury by 28%. When casualties with dislodged helmets were excluded, HI was reduced 45% by approved helmets. Head injury reduction by helmets, although substantial, was less than that found in a similar study in Seattle, Washington.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Bicycling / injuries*
  • Bicycling / statistics & numerical data
  • Child
  • Craniocerebral Trauma / epidemiology
  • Craniocerebral Trauma / prevention & control*
  • Facial Injuries / prevention & control
  • Female
  • Head Protective Devices* / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Injury Severity Score
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Trauma / epidemiology
  • Multiple Trauma / prevention & control
  • Pelvic Bones / injuries
  • Sex Factors