Study Casts Doubt on Bike Helmet Laws for Children

Aaron Carroll shares news of research published by Health Economics, "Effects of Bicycle Helmet Laws on Children’s Injuries."

Carroll provides a summary of the findings of the study: "This study examined the association between bike helmet laws and head injuries. But they also looked at the effect of bike helmet laws on bike-related non-head injuries, and injuries from other wheeled activities not affected by helmet laws (ie skateboards). They found that, in kids age 5-19 years, helmet laws were associated with a 13% reduction in the incidence of bike-related head injuries. But they were also associated with a 9% reduction in bike-related non-head injuries."

In essence, bike helmets don't always prevent injuries for kids in the way one would expect: "This means that either wearing a helmet protected the body as well as the head, or that bike helmet laws worked by getting fewer kids to ride bikes. The researchers also saw an 11%increase in injuries from other wheeled activities. This would support the idea that some kids just started riding other devices, and still kept getting injured."

Carroll writes more on the possible consequences of helmet laws on bike safety for children.