CSN Monthly Bulletin

Bicycle Safety

April 2006

This bulletin comes to you from the Children's Safety Network through CSN Discuss, an electronic forum for the discussion of child and adolescent injury and violence prevention and related issues.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

News and Developments
  1. Pedestrian and Bike Safety Products for Hispanics.
Articles and Reports
  1. Fact Sheet: Bicycle helmet use laws.
  2. Brochure: Which helmet for which activity?
  3. Article: The role of the health care professional in bicycle safety.
  4. Article: Trends in helmet use and head injuries in San Diego County: The effect of bicycle helmet legislation.
  5. Review: Non-legislative interventions for the promotion of cycle helmet wearing by children.
  6. Article: Peer and adult companion helmet use is associated with bicycle helmet use by children.
  7. Article: Bicycle helmets: Overcoming barriers to use and increasing effectiveness.
  8. Article: Increasing child pedestrian and cyclist visibility: Cluster randomized controlled trial.
Online Resources
  1. Database: Resource guide on laws related to pedestrian and bicycle safety.
  2. Website: Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center Best Practices Project.
  3. Website: Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.

Availability

Copies of many items can be delivered to state Maternal and Child Health and state public health staff upon request. Articles available by e-mail are so indicated. Some other articles can be faxed or mailed. To request an article or other publication, e-mail jhudson@edc.org with the item name, delivery preference (e-mail, fax number, or mailing address). This service is available to state Maternal and Child Health and state public health staff. Copyright laws forbid us from delivering articles to others. URLs of publications that can be downloaded from the web are included in the bibliographic information.

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News and Developments

  1. Pedestrian and Child Safety Products for Hispanics

    The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have developed bicycle safety materials for Hispanic audiences as well as a report on the project that developed these materials. This report includes a marketing plan that communities can use in conjunction with these materials.

    The report and materials are available at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/materials/ped_hisp.htm.

Articles and Reports

  1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
    Bicycle helmet use laws.
    Traffic Safety Facts. 2006 January.

    This fact sheet provides an overview and background on bicycle-related injuries, the legislative status of bicycle helmet laws, and the cost savings of wearing helmets.

    The Fact Sheet is available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Rulemaking/Articles/Associated%20Files/02%20Bike%20Helmet%20Use.pdf. PDF Document

  2. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2006).
    Which helmet for which activity?
    Bethesda, MD: Author.

    This brochure describes appropriate helmets for particular activities or sports.

    The publication is available at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/349.pdf. PDF Document

  3. Corden TE, Tripathy N, Pierce SE, Katcher ML. The role of the health care professional in bicycle safety. Wisconsin Medical Journal. 2005 February;104(2):35-8.

    This study focuses on specific areas for physicians and health care professionals to emphasize during office visits, including helmet use by cyclists, avoidance of risk-taking, safe cycling road behavior, and proper cycling equipment fit and usage.

    This article is available at: http://wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/uploads/wmj/ACFD4B.pdf. PDF Document

  4. Ji M, Gilchick RA, Bender SJ.
    Trends in helmet use and head injuries in San Diego County: The effect of bicycle helmet legislation.
    Accident Analysis and Prevention. 2006 January;38(1):128-34.

    This study found that legislation to increase helmet use in children prevented serious head injuries, and the effect of the legislation carried over to the adult population.

    Availability: hard copy only.

  5. Royal ST, Kendrick D, Coleman T.
    Non-legislative interventions for the promotion of cycle helmet wearing by children.
    Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2005 April;18(2):CD003985.

    This study explored the effectiveness of non-legislated helmet use among children. It assessed interventions from a number of community-based studies and concluded providing free helmets with helmet education increases helmet-use.

    Availability: hard copy only.

  6. Khambalia A, MacArthur C, Parkin PC.
    Peer and adult companion helmet use is associated with bicycle helmet use by children.
    Pediatrics. 2005 October;116(4):939-42.

    This study examined whether the helmet status of riding companions (child or adult) influences helmet use by children (5-14 years of age). Adult riding companions were positively associated with child helmet use.

    Availability: email or hard copy.

  7. Rezendes JL.
    Bicycle helmets: Overcoming barriers to use and increasing effectiveness.
    Journal of Pediatric Nursing. 2006 February;21(1):35-44.

    This overview of current bicycle helmet research discusses factors that promote and obstruct child bicycle helmet use and offers recommendations for improving bicycle helmet use among children.

    Availability: hard copy only.

  8. Mulvaney CA, Kendrick D, Watson MC, Coupland CA.
    Increasing child pedestrian and cyclist visibility: Cluster randomized controlled trial.
    Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2006 April;60(4):311-15.

    This study assessed the use of aids such as reflective bands and tape to increase pedestrian and cyclist visibility. The study found that providing free visibility aids and an educational booklet on road safety significantly increased use of visibility aids among primary school students for up to eight weeks.

    Availability: email or hard copy

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Online Resources

  1. Dunlop and Associates, Inc. (2003) Resource guide on laws related to pedestrian and bicycle safety. DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

    This annotated database of existing and model laws to promote pedestrian and bicyclist safety is available as a download at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/resourceguide/index.html.

  2. Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center. Bicycle injuries: Best practices.

    The Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center Best Practices website reviews studies of educational, legislative, and product/environmental interventions and provides information on what works and what does not work in the field of injury prevention. The Bicycle Injuries section of the website includes information on bicycle helmet effectiveness in reducing head trauma, bicycle helmet training and education, bicycle lanes and paths, evaluations of bicycle skills training and safety courses, and other bicycle safety interventions.

    The website can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/hiprc/practices/topic/bicycles/index.html.

  3. Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center

    The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) is a clearinghouse for information about health and safety, engineering, advocacy, education, enforcement, and access and mobility. It includes a wide range of resources on interventions to improve bicycle safety, news, environmental design, rails and trails, fitness, and other issues.

    The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center can be found online at http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/.

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Please direct questions about this bulletin to Lisa Decker or Chris Hanna at:
Children's Safety Network
National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety
1000 Oak Avenue
Marshfield, WI 54449
http://www.childrenssafetynetwork.org/
Phone: 800-662-6900
Fax: 715-389-4996
E-mail: decker.lisa@mcrf.mfldclin.edu or hanna.chris@mcrf.mfldclin.edu