A cost-benefit analysis of legislation for bicycle safety helmets in Israel

Am J Public Health. 1994 Apr;84(4):653-6. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.4.653.

Abstract

Legislation requiring bicyclists to wear helmets in Israel will, over a helmet's 5-year duration (assuming 85% compliancy, 83.2% helmet efficiency for morbidity, and 70% helmet efficiency for mortality), save approximately 57 lives and result in approximately 2544 fewer hospitalizations; 13,355 and 26,634 fewer emergency room and ambulatory visits, respectively; and 832 and 115 fewer short-term and long-term rehabilitation cases, respectively. Total benefits ($60.7 million) from reductions in health service use ($44.2 million), work absences ($7.5 million), and mortality ($8.9 million) would exceed program costs ($20.1 million), resulting in a benefit-cost ratio of 3.01:1.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Bicycling / injuries*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cost of Illness*
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Craniocerebral Trauma / economics
  • Craniocerebral Trauma / prevention & control*
  • Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data
  • Head Protective Devices / economics*
  • Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Israel
  • Middle Aged