Deaths when not using helmet

[david k]

Bicycle Deaths by Helmet Use
1994-2006


Year/ No Helmet(%), Helmet (%), Total Num

1994
776 (97%)19 (2%)796

1995
783 (95%)34 (4%)828

1996
731 (96%)27 (4%)761

1997
785 (97%)23 (3%)811

1998
741 (98%)16 (2%)757

1999
698 (93%)42 (6%)750

2000
622 (90%)50 (7%)689

2001
616 (84%)60 (8%)729

2002
589 (89%)54 (8%)663

2003
535 (85%)58 (9%)626

2004
602 (83%)87 (12%)722

2005
676 (86%)77 (10%)784

2006
730 (95%)37 (5%)669

2007
646 (92%)50 (7%)699

2008
653 (91%)58 (8%)714

http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm



Make your own decision if you want to wear a helmet or not, here are the stats, total deaths, how many were and how many were not wearing a helmet

 

[siadwell]

Without context (e.g. how many died from head injuries, what proportion of all riders wore helmets) you might as well look at stats of death versus eye colour.

 

[Red Light]

Ahem....that is data for the US and without the levels of helmet wearing in the cycling population its meaningless. Its like declaring the Morris Minor much safer than a Ford Focus because many more people are injured in Ford Focuses.

 

[Mad at urage]

How many of those deaths would have occurred to serious injuries to parts other than the head?

 

[Wankelschrauben]

I am interested that there is a trend that more cyclists are now killed whilst wearing helmets.

Does this indicate that proportionately more cyclists are wearing helmets than previously?

Does this indicate that drivers are becoming riskier towards cyclists wearing helmets?

There are many ways to interpret those figures.

 

[Red Light]

How many of those deaths would have occurred to serious injuries to parts other than the head?

General figure is about 15% will have had a fatal head injury alone. The other 85% will have had other fatal injuries to the body.

 

[GrasB]

General figure is about 15% will have had a fatal head injury alone. The other 85% will have had other fatal injuries to the body.

hence this line under the table:
*Total includes other and/or unknowns. BHSI Note: cause of death may or may not have been head injury.

 

[ianrauk]

hence this line under the table:
*Total includes other and/or unknowns. BHSI Note: cause of death may or may not have been head injury.

Very interesting that this was omitted from the OP.

 

[ianrauk]

Watch out for those dangerous beds and mattresses

Total product-related injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms nationwide


Stairs, Ramps, Landings, Floors 2,324,938
Beds, Mattresses, Pillows 560,129
Bicycles & Accessories 515,871
Basketball 481,011
Chairs, Sofas, Sofa Beds 476,109
Football 455,193
Bathroom Structures & Fixtures 330,102
Non-glass Doors, Panels 321,665
Tables, not elsewhere classified 309,252
ATV’s, Mopeds, Minibikes, etc. 278,671
Baseball, Softball 277,702
Exercise, Exercise Equipment 264,921
Desks, Cabinets, Shelves, Racks 262,171
Cans, Other Containers 248,126
Clothing 245,129
Ladders, Stools 227,769
All Toys 224,827
Playground Equipment 219,625
Soccer 198,679
Swimming, Pools, Equipment 155,322
Glass Doors, Windows, Panels 155,269
Skateboards 143,682
Workshop Manual Tools 131,396
Carpets, Rugs 128,361
Other Misc. Furniture & Accessories 122,662

 

[Markymark]

I've read the attached stats and it's convinved me. The deaths with/without helmets seem to have the same data.

http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm

To quote from it

"Half (50%) of bicyclists wear a helmet for at least some trips, with 35 percent using them for all or most trips. "

I would take that to mean APPROX 40% of cycle trips are helmetted, however, around 85-90% of deaths are people without helmets.

That would mean to me a disproptionate amount of people die without helmets and unless someone can provide alternativer statistics that contradict this (actual stats rather than personal or professional opinion), I would take that to mean you are less likely to die with a helmet.

 

[coffeejo]

Bill Bryson did a great piece on Americans and their mattress-related injuries. In fact, he cites such statistics as the reason for his move back across the Pond

 

[Red Light]

I've read the attached stats and it's convinved me. The deaths with/without helmets seem to have the same data.

http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm

To quote from it

"Half (50%) of bicyclists wear a helmet for at least some trips, with 35 percent using them for all or most trips. "

I would take that to mean APPROX 40% of cycle trips are helmetted, however, around 85-90% of deaths are people without helmets.

That would mean to me a disproptionate amount of people die without helmets and unless someone can provide alternativer statistics that contradict this (actual stats rather than personal or professional opinion), I would take that to mean you are less likely to die with a helmet.

You can't do it as simply as that. Gregory Rodgers, who worked for the Consumer Protection Safety Council in the US that introduced the first helmet standards, did an analysis of 8 million cycle accidents in the US and found that "bicycle-related fatalities are positively and significantly associated with increased helmet use" and that has been found in a number of other studies since.

There is an interesting New York Times article on it and there is a general correlation that the developed countries with the highest helmet wearing rate have the highest head injury rate and similarly lowest and lowest.

 

[david k]

so from total cycle deaths the approx 95% didnt wear a helmet,5% did, allowing for some discrepancy this is still an alarming swing to no helmet = more likely to die in an accident

 

[ufkacbln]

Lets just accept the figures for a second....

The OP is correct - we should be worried!


The percentage of deaths in helmet wearers has increased dramatically over the ten years between 1994 and 2004

At the peak there are 6 times as many helmet wearers dying than in 1994, yet during the same time the percentage of non helmet wearers dying has decreased

The figures taken at face value show that not wearing a helmet has become safer in percentage terms, whilst wearing a helmet has become more dangerous.

 

[Davidc]

Lets just accept the figures for a second....
The figures taken at face value show that not wearing a helmet has become safer in percentage terms, whilst wearing a helmet has become more dangerous.

Not unless all deaths are from head injuries. Wearing or not wearing a helmet will be irrelevant in most cases.

Those stats are just numbers with no real meaning. More information would be needed to draw any conclusion from them.