Main Points

• Emergency physicians see firsthand the tragic consequences of people who don’t wear bicycle helmets.

• Bicycle helmet use is the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from crashes, but only about one quarter of 85 million riders in America wear them. 

• About 540,000 bicyclists are treated in emergency departments with injuries every year.  Nearly 800 bicyclists died in 2005, and more than 50 percent of them were children. 

• Emergency physicians educate the public about safety and wearing helmets.  ACEP and its chapters advocate for adoption and enforcement of laws requiring bicyclists to wear helmets.

Q. Why should people wear bicycle helmets?
A.

• Bicycle helmets are nearly 90-percent effective in preventing brain injuries.

• Head injuries cause 75 percent of our 500 plus bicycle deaths each year.

• Universal bicycle helmet use by children 4 to 15 would prevent 39,000 to 45,000 head injuries and 18,000 to 55,000 scalp and face injuries annually, according to NHTSA.

• More children ages 5 to 14 visit U.S. hospital emergency departments for bicycle injuries than with any other sport.

• Of those who died from bicycle injuries in 2005, 92 percent of them died in crashes with motor vehicles.  

Q. What kind of helmet should be worn?
A. 

• Riders should wear bicycle helmets that meet or exceed the safety standards developed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  (A sticker on the inside of the helmet will indicate if it meets the standards.)

• Helmets should sit on top of the head in a level position and not rock forward and back or side to side. Helmet straps must be buckled snugly but not too tightly.

• The average cost of a bicycle helmet is $15 to $20.  They are important for bicyclists of all ages, because older bicyclists represent more than three-quarters of bicycle deaths.

Q. What are the estimated costs of bicycle-related injuries related to not wearing helmets?
A. The direct costs of bicycle-related injuries and deaths (for all ages) are estimated to be $81 million each year.  The indirect costs are estimated to be $2.3 billion each year. Since injuries can endure through a person’s lifetime, every dollar spent on a bike helmet can save society $30 in direct medical costs and other costs, according to the NHTSA.

Q. What kinds of bicycle helmet laws are in place?
A. There is no federal law requiring bicycle helmets. As of January 2006, 20 states, the District of Columbia, and at least 148 municipal localities have enacted age-specific bicycle helmet laws. Most of these laws cover bicyclists under 16.  Thirteen states have no state or local helmet laws at all (Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming).

Q. What is the best way to get more people to wear bicycle helmets?
A.. Parents should set a good example of wearing helmets themselves and require their children to wear helmets whenever they ride. 

People can promote helmet use by participating in or start a helmet campaign.

Enactment of laws requiring use of bicycle helmets, along with education and appropriate enforcement, are likely to be the most promising ways to increase helmet usage in the United States

For more information on health and safety topics, visit www.acep.org and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration at www.nhtsa.gov.