Years of research has shown cycling without a helmet is more beneficial for us. Photo: Sam Wong
To most people, the benefits of mandatory bicycle helmet laws are obvious – they are in place to protect people from head injuries and help save lives.
But, surprisingly, more than 20 years of research has failed to support that claim.
Currently, Australia and New Zealand are the only countries that have mandatory bike helmet laws.
The fact that no other first world country has followed in our footsteps is a good sign that helmet laws should to be reviewed.
While it may seem counter-intuitive, according to recent studies, relinquishing mandatory helmet laws could in fact be more beneficial for individuals and societies.
Sydney University’s Professor Chris Rissel said public bike schemes around the world – where helmets are not required to be worn – have shown how safe cycling really is.
“There have now been over 6 million users of the ‘Boris bikes’ in London… with very few serious injuries. In the first three months, the accident rate was estimated to be 0.002 per cent.”
Regardless of the low accident rate, helmet laws are being forced upon Australians even though it is preventing many people from taking up cycling – a vital form of exercise in this age of obesity and growing health concerns.
Prof Rissel also revealed the number of cyclists on the road could double if the law was revoked.
“Well over half a million more Australians could be riding bicycles if we didn’t have mandatory helmet laws,” he said.
Many politicians cite a 1994 study as justification for the helmet law, arguing the rate of head injuries suffered by cyclists was greatly reduced in the two years after the law was introduced.
But Dr Dorothy Robinson from the University of New England, along with many other academics, have pointed out there is a problem with that study.
It had failed to take into account the fact that the introduction of the helmet laws in Australia coincided with other road safety measures, such as the crackdown on speeding and drink driving.
Cycling and public health
While cycling related injuries claim about 40 lives per year, the Heart Foundation found the lack of physical activity causes an overwhelming 16,000 premature deaths annually in Australia.
Dr Mayer Hillman from the Policies Studies Institute in London estimated that the benefits in terms of life years gained by the increase in exercise outweigh the life years lost in cycling fatalities by 20 times.
After so many years of research, it seems to be clear to everyone but lawmakers that the cycling helmet experiment has failed.
Perhaps it is time we take cue from the rest of the world, review these laws and give people this freedom.
Abolishing mandatory helmet laws would improve health in general, reduce greenhouse gas emission and reduce traffic congestion, while keeping it would offer negligible benefits.
If we have the choice whether to drink and smoke ourselves into early graves, shouldn’t we also be given this choice, one which may prove benenficial to our health?
