For the majority of cyclists who die in bicycle accidents, the most serious injury is to the head.wearing … [+]
For the majority of cyclists who die in bicycle accidents, the most serious injury is to the head. Wearing a helmet reduces that risk by about 60% and can save a cyclist’s life, but many people still ride without a helmet.
This is an important issue because the number of bicycle fatalities has been steadily increasing in the United States and nearly 20% worldwide over the past decade or so.
A review of research found that cyclists are four times more likely to wear a helmet after a helmet law is enacted than before the law was passed.
(Although local ordinances in several U.S. states require some or all bicyclists to wear helmets, only 21 states have helmet usage laws that apply to young bicyclists.) Only states and the District of Columbia, and neither of these laws apply to all bicycles. Therefore, helmet usage laws do not apply to most adult bicycles. Riders in the United States must wear helmets. No need to.)
A new study from Denmark, a country known for its strong cycling culture and road safety record (and one of the lowest per capita road fatality rates in the world), finds that a different approach to encouraging helmet use may be more effective than making it mandatory. It turned out that there is a sex.
Björn Olsson, special advisor to the Danish Road Safety Association and author of a recent study published in the Journal of Safety Research, believes that initiatives such as a national focus on road safety education in schools will spoke to Forbes about how we can increase the use of modern helmets. Behavior change campaigns and more safety-oriented behavior in road traffic in general.
Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Forbes: How did the idea for this study come about?
Mr. Olson: Since 2004, the Danish Road Safety Council has systematically carried out observations on the use of bicycle helmets by cyclists across the country. Such data will enable the Danish Road Safety Association and other road safety stakeholders to not only develop and target new bicycle helmet campaigns, but also to determine whether these campaigns actually increase helmet use. I was able to be in a better position to evaluate the situation.
To provide our readers with some background on Danish cycling culture, could you briefly explain Denmark’s position on legislation mandating the use of helmets?
There are no laws regarding the use of bicycle helmets in Denmark. The only type of bicycle for which helmets are required are electric bicycles, or high-speed electric bicycles with motor assistance, that can travel at speeds up to 45 km/h (30 mph). Other two-wheeled vehicles such as mopeds and electric scooters are required to wear helmets, and police enforce the law.
To date, there has been no substantive public consideration of introducing helmet use for all cyclists, and the majority of road safety stakeholders and policy makers currently do not recommend that all cyclists wear helmets. I don’t support laws requiring people to wear helmets.
Some forums have long debated whether to make bicycle helmets compulsory for children under 15, as is the case in Sweden. However, since Sweden made it mandatory for children under the age of 15 to wear bicycle helmets when cycling, helmet use among school children (approximately 6 to 16 years old) has actually increased more in Denmark than in Sweden. The absolute proportion of children using bicycles is actually increasing. Helmets are also more expensive in Denmark than in Sweden.
In a country with such a strong tradition of safe cycling, why was this study needed and what was the motivation for carrying it out?
Until bicycle helmet observations began in 2004, there was no systematic and valid data on bicycle helmet use in Denmark. When the first systematic observations were made in 2004, approximately 50 cyclists were killed in road traffic each year, but very few of them were wearing helmets. Cyclist deaths have now fallen to about 20 people each year (thanks not only to increased use of bicycle helmets, but also to slower car drivers and safer infrastructure).
However, even today, around a quarter of cyclists killed in road traffic accidents could have survived had they worn a helmet, so increasing the use of helmets has the potential to save lives. There’s more. Additionally, there are more than 4,000 seriously injured cyclists in emergency wards and hospitals each year. We don’t know how many of these could have been prevented if more people had used bicycle helmets, but it’s significant.
What was the most important finding of the study?
– In 2004, only 6% of cyclists in Denmark wore a bicycle helmet. In 2022, all Danish cyclists (50%) wore helmets.
– Among children in bicycle schools (ages 6-16), helmet use increased from 33% in 2024 to 79% in 2022.
– The increased use of helmets is due to the lack of helmet laws. The increase in helmet use can be attributed to a variety of factors, including road safety education, a national behavior change campaign, and the fact that all key stakeholders have agreed to promote the voluntary uptake of bicycle helmets. . In addition, the market for bicycle helmets has expanded, with design options increasing, more people wearing helmets, and the self-reinforcing effect (the helmet becomes less noticeable even when worn, the helmet becomes less noticeable). it is conceivable that. I don’t feel as uncomfortable wearing a bicycle helmet as I did when bicycle helmets were a novelty).
– The sharpest increase in helmet use among children in cycling schools occurred shortly after a major behavior change campaign targeting parents and pre-teens was launched. The campaign featured a number of music videos praising parents who insist their children wear bicycle helmets.
The most popular videos (here and here) received between 6 and 14 million views on YouTube. (Denmark’s population is approximately 6 million.)
Why are these findings important and relevant for cyclists and policy makers?
The findings show that it is indeed possible to change road safety behavior for the better on a large-scale, national scale, even in the absence of legislation. At the same time, the results indicate that such changes may take a long time to materialize and that sustained campaigns and educational efforts are likely needed to bring about such changes. .
The results of this study are therefore important for policy makers who want to improve road safety for cyclists, especially those who must decide how to increase the use of bicycle helmets. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to provide valuable insights into strategies and interventions to increase the uptake of helmets among cyclists.
Could you briefly explain the road safety education and behavior change campaign to encourage helmet use in Denmark?
Traffic safety education has been primarily targeted at school children. For example, in Denmark there is something called a “bicycle test” where students around the age of 10 to 13 are taught the rules of cycling and how to ride a bike better and safer. The test also includes a practical element in real traffic and requires you to demonstrate how to ride a bicycle safely. Another example of road safety education is the “Mini Helmet and Egg Experiment.”
National behavior change campaigns have primarily targeted the general public. Our latest national campaign, ‘Helmets were always a good idea’, is a humorous campaign that has gone viral. The campaign focused on some of the excuses Danish cyclists often give for not wearing a bicycle helmet. The campaign uses these excuses in the context of Vikings who don’t want to put on their helmets before going on a raid. Another example of a national action campaign is the aforementioned campaign aimed at parents of pre-teen children.
Is there anything else you think is important for our readers to know?
The Netherlands is a very interesting contrasting case to Denmark. Both countries are bicycle superpowers with many people riding bicycles. However, countries have taken very different paths when it comes to bicycle helmets. In the Netherlands, bicycle helmets have so far been a rare sight, with virtually no national helmet campaigns focused on ordinary cyclists.
The latest estimates I know of are that around 1% of Dutch cyclists were wearing helmets in 2021/2022. Currently, the Netherlands is also considering starting to encourage the use of bicycle helmets (through voluntary means). These plans are inspired by Denmark’s approach and experience in increasing the use of bicycle helmets through campaigns and education. In the Netherlands, there has been a significant increase in the number of fatal accidents involving cyclists, prompting further consideration.
Also, as a funny anecdote, the Danish Road Safety Council went on a training trip to Amsterdam about 15 years ago (I was not employed by the Danish Road Safety Council at the time, so the following is from a colleague. That’s what I heard). During the trip, several of my colleagues were cycling around Amsterdam, and of course we were all wearing bike helmets. Other cyclists and road users in Amsterdam then repeatedly booed the Dane’s helmet, shouting things like “take it off” and “you look stupid”. I don’t think that’s the case anymore, but this speaks to the historical negativity surrounding bicycle helmets in the Netherlands.
The study “Increasing use of bicycle helmets in the absence of mandatory bicycle helmet legislation: dissemination from a longitudinal observational study of bicycle helmet use among cyclists in Denmark from 2004 to 2022” Click here to read “Rates and Trends.”