Helmet Fact Sheet
Summary: Some relevant points on bike and helmet safety.
There are 85 million bicycle riders in the US.
725 bicyclists died in traffic crashes in the US in 2004.
About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.
Bicycle crashes and injuries are under reported, since the majority are not serious enough for emergency room visits.
1 in 8 of the cyclists with reported injuries has a brain injury.
Two-thirds of the deaths here are from traumatic brain injury.
A very high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent.
Many years of potential life are lost because about half of the deaths are children under 15 years old.
Direct costs of cyclists' injuries due to not using helmets are estimated at $81 million each year.
Indirect costs of cyclists' injuries due to not using helmets are estimated at $2.3 billion each year.
Helmet use in the US varies widely in different areas. White collar commuters probably reach 80 per cent, while inner city kids and rural kids would be 10 per cent or less. Overall, our best wild guess is probably no more than 25 per cent total helmet users. Sommers Point, NJ, where a state helmet law is in effect, found that only 24 of the 359 students who rode to school in one week of the Winter of 2002 wore helmets (6 per cent) until the School District adopted a helmet rule. North Carolina observed 17 per cent statewide before their law went into effect in 2001.
Helmets are cheap. The typical discount store price is about $15, but there are still models available for under $10 at major retailers.
This page was last revised on: April 2, 2006.
Contact us.
|
|