Cycling UK Forum

If he had been racing a helmet would have been compulsory!
Surely the professional bodies know what they are talking about

Jeeezzzz.. thats some photo.

Just been on copenheganize

Australian government study showed that 25% of all car fatalities could be avoided if the motorists had worn helmets - despite seatbelts and airbags. That's over 250,000 lives saved every year globally, and 10,000 in the US alone

Anyone know what study?

[XAP]Bob wrote: .... Anyone know what study?

Common sense, if you think about it. It would make even more sense for all cars to be painted exclusively in dayglo paint.

[XAP]Bob wrote:Just been on copenheganize

Australian government study showed that 25% of all car fatalities could be avoided if the motorists had worn helmets - despite seatbelts and airbags. That's over 250,000 lives saved every year globally, and 10,000 in the US alone

Anyone know what study?

Think it was done by the Federal Office of Road Safety. I have an image of a newspaper quoting something similar (IIRC the figure was 20% fatalities saved) from them from a decade or more back. Even at 20% that's a higher figure than "cycling" helmets achieve for cyclists.

Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday, September 22, 1998

Motorists get head start in drive for road safety
Cap this .. the latest in protective headwear for motorists.


By ROBERT WAINWRIGHT, Transport Writer

First it was motorbike riders, cyclists and skateboarders - now motorists and their passengers are being encouraged to wear helmets.

The move comes in the wake of a new study which claims that headwear can dramatically reduce brain injuries in road accidents.

A report by the Federal Office of Road Safety claims that "bicycle-style" helmets would be as effective as airbags and better than seat belts, reducing the severity of accidents by 50 per cent and saving the life of one in five head-injury victims.

The report, released yesterday with the backing of the Department of Transport and Regional Development, even suggested that protective headbands could be designed as a fashion accessory.

It presents findings from a two-year study on head and brain injuries conducted jointly by the accident research units at the University of Adelaide and Monash University, which said head injuries were costing the economy more than $1.5 billion a year.

The universities concluded that helmets would provide more protection than safety options such as interior padding, side-impact airbags and advanced seat belt designs.

Full helmet protection would lessen the severity of more than 60 per cent of brain injuries, compared with a bicycle-style helmet (50 per cent) and better interior vehicle padding (30 per cent).

A spokesman for the Office of Road Safety said the idea was being put forward only as a voluntary measure, and there were no plans to make it compulsory.

"Car occupants are already better protected than cyclists or motorcyclists," the spokesman said. "But this research shows that safety could be improved quite a lot by using simple, low-cost protection. We are publishing these results so that the community can make an informed choice."

Professor Jack McLean, from the University of Adelaide, said studies of head injuries found that specially designed headbands could offer a practical alternative to full helmets.

"The proposed headbands would apply padding to the front and sides of the head, where most impacts occur," Professor McLean said. "They would be lighter, cooler and less bulky than a conventional helmet."

Ms Pam Leicester, a behavioural scientist from the NRMA's Road Safety Department, said the idea had merit, but it would not be easy to persuade motorists to wear helmets.

The report, which concluded that a helmet would have avoided one in five fatal accidents, will be given to Australian helmet designers and manufacturers.

"A detailed analysis of head impact patterns ... suggests that specifically designed headbands could provide a practical alternative to full helmets," it says. "With some imaginative designing, the headband might well be developed as a new fashion accessory."