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With the start of summer, CSN is providing this special issue of our newsletter on bicycle safety, a topic which is also linked to initiatives to promote healthy weight and reduce obesity. This newsletter issue contains data on bicycle-related injuries and information about bicycle helmet laws, prevention strategies and programs, evaluations of the effectiveness of wearing bicycle helmets and of making environmental changes to support safe bicycling, policies and campaigns to encourage bicycling, and bicycle helmet ratings and other safety guidelines. |
| Data | | 1. Bicyclists and other cyclists: 2008 data. - A NHTSA report
This fact sheet presents the 2008 injury statistics on "pedalcyclists" - bicyclists and riders of two-wheel non-motorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals.
"Pedalcyclists under age 16 accounted for 13 percent of all pedalcyclists killed and 25 percent of those injured in traffic crashes in 2008. By comparison, pedalcyclists under age 16 accounted for 30 percent of all those killed and 44 percent of those injured in 1998."
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/811156.pdf
2. Bicycle-related injuries among children and adolescents in the United States
This study (Mehan TJ, et al. Clinical Pediatrics (Philadelphia). 2009 Mar; 48(2):166-73) describes the epidemiology of bicycle-related injuries among children and adolescents 18 years and younger on a national level.
The researchersanalyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for patients 18 years and younger who were seen in emergency departments (EDs) in 1990-2005, for injuries received while operating a bicycle.
During the 16-year study period, there were an estimated6,228,700 individuals 18 years and younger treated in U.S. EDs for bicycle-related injuries.
Children with head injuries were more than 3 timesas likely to require hospitalization and were almost 6 times more likely to have their injuries result in death.
"The large number of annual bicycle-related injuries is evidence that prevention of these injuries should remain an important area of bicycle safety research and practice," - conclude the authors.
CSN will provide copies of the article to state Maternal and Child Health and state public health staff on request: csn@edc.org
3. Bicycling and walking in the United States: 2010 Benchmarking report
This second biennial report, published by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, ranks the 50 states and 51 largest U.S. cities on a number of bicycling and walking benchmarks.
The report includes data on: bicycling and walking demographics; bicycle and pedestrian safety; bicycle and pedestrian policies; funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects; bicycle infrastructure, including bike lanes, paths, signed bike routes, and bicycle parking; bike-transit integration, including presence of bike racks on buses, bike parking at transit stops; bicycling and walking education activities; and public health indicators, including levels of obesity, physical activity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
The authors show how lack of investment in biking and walking could be contributing to higher traffic fatalities and chronic disease rates in the United States.
The report is a good tool for government officials, advocates, and those working to promote bicycling and walking.
http://www.peoplepoweredmovement.org/site/index.php/site/memberservices/C529 |
| Helmets | |
4. Bicycle helmet use laws: A NHTSA fact sheet
Bicycle helmets offer bicyclists the best protection from head injuries resulting from bicycle crashes, and bicycle helmet laws have proved effective in increasing bicycle helmet use.
To date, 21 states, the District of Columbia, and at least 149 municipal localities have enacted age specific bicycle helmet laws. Most of these laws cover bicyclists under 16.
14 States have no state or local helmet laws at all (Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming).
http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/Communication%20&%20Consumer%20Information/Articles/Associated%20Files/810886.pdf
5. Bicycle helmet use laws: Lessons learned from selected sites. - A NHTSA report
This report describes the experiences of six jurisdictions in enacting and implementing bicycle helmet use laws.
Appendices include specific activities that states and communities have used to raise awareness of and promote compliance with the new laws. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/BikeHelmetUseLawsWeb/images/BicycleHelmetUseLaws.pdf
6. Bicycle helmet laws increase use: A C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor survey
According to this nationally representative survey of parents, children are more inclined to wear a bicycle helmet if they live in a community with a helmet law. Although only 21 states have bicycle helmet laws for children, states with these helmets laws have twice the use rate of states without them: 54 percent among 4-17 year olds compared with 24 percent in states without the laws.
Older children (ages 12-17) were less likely to wear helmets than younger children (ages 4-11).
The leading reason parents gave for their child not wearing a bike helmet is the child does not like wearing it. Many parents also expressed the opinion that bicycle helmets are too expensive. The survey indicated that as family income decreased, so too did the rate of helmet use.
However, 86 percent of parents surveyed said they would support a helmet law in their community.
http://www.med.umich.edu/mott/npch/reports/helmets.htm
7. Effectiveness of bicycle helmet legislation to increase helmet use: A systematic review
This review (Karkhaneh M, et al. Injury Prevention. 2006; 12(2): 76-82) identifies the effectiveness of legislative interventions to increase bicycle helmet use among all age groups.
Legislation increased helmet use among cyclists, particularly younger age groups and those with low pre-intervention helmet wearing.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564454/pdf/76.pdf
8. Promoting bicycle helmet wearing by children using non-legislative interventions: Systematic review and meta-analysis
This study (Royal S, Kendrick D, Coleman T. Injury Prevention. 2007 Jun; 13(3): 162-7) assesses the effectiveness of non-legislative interventions in increasing bicycle helmet use among children and young people and identifies possible reasons for differential effectiveness of interventions.
The authors conclude that community-based helmet promotion programs that include the provision of free helmets may increase helmet wearing to a greater extent than those set in schools or those providing subsidized helmets.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2598365/pdf/162.pdf
9. Bike helmet ratings: A Consumer Reports article
Consumer Reports has posted ratings of youth and toddler bike helmets.
They rated only three above average in impact protection: Bell Trigger, Bell Amigo, and Giro Me2.
They picked the Schwinn Thrasher as a Best Buy even though it was rated only "good" in impact protection.
None of the tested helmets flunked.
Most of the rating differences were in ventilation.
http://www.helmets.org/cu_2009.htm
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| Safe Routes to School | |
10. Safe Routes to School Guide
Provides information on engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation strategies to increase safety for children bicycling and walking to school.
http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/guide/
11. Many steps...One tomorrow: A report on the first three years of the National Safe Routes to School Program. - An NCSRTS publication
This progress report, published by the National Center for Safe Routes to School (NCSRTS), examines the growth of Safe Routes to School programs (SRTS) throughout the nation.
$370.6 million in Federal funds have been allocated to provide SRTS Coordinators in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and to support more than 4,566 SRTS school programs throughout the United States.
The report also includes case studies of several successful programs.
http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/resources/collateral/status_report/SRTS_3-year_report.pdf
12. Public health-led Safe Routes to School programs: Experiences from six health departments. - A STIPDA report
In many communities across the United States, public health is already a strong partner in state and local Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs.
The report, published by the State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association (STIPDA), describes such programs in six health departments in diverse settings among five states that were awarded National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and STIPDA one-year mini-grants to engage the public health community in SRTS initiatives.
http://www.stipda.org/associations/5805/files/SRTS%202009%20Lessons%20Learned%20Report%20-%20Forward.pdf
13. Safe Routes to High Schools Act: New legislation proposed
This legislation, introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), will make high schools eligible for federal Safe Routes to School funding.
The current federal Safe Routes to School program is limited to elementary and middle schools (grades K-8).
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4021
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| Other Programs, Strategies, Campaigns | |
14. National strategies for advancing bicycle safety: A NHTSA publication
These guidelines recommend national, state, and local action steps to address bicycle injuries and fatalities and focus on five goals: sharing the road; safe riding; helmets; safety legislation; and safe roads and paths.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/bicycle_safety/
15. Let's Move: A new national campaign
This campaign, led byFirst Lady Michelle Obama,aims to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.
It will give parents, community leaders, teachers, doctors, and nurses the support they need to make healthy food available in every school and home and to help our kids to be more physically active.
http://www.letsmove.gov/index.html
16. A national network of bike trails? It could happen. - An NPR program
"A quiet revolution is starting in the world of transportation.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced what he's calling a "sea change" in transportation policy: He wants to make biking as important as driving."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126263488
17. Complete Streets
This campaign, conducted by the National Complete Streets Coalition, seeks to fundamentally transform the look, feel, and function of the roads and streets in the United States, by changing the way most roads are planned, designed, and constructed.
By 2009, 100 states, regions, counties, cities, and towns had adopted Complete Streets policies.
http://www.completestreets.org/
18. People for Bikes: A Bikes Belong new campaign
The goal of this campaign is to gather a million names to support making bicycling safer, more convenient, and appealing for everyone.
The campaign will urge policy makers to make new, cost-effective investments in bicycling facilities and programs across the country.
http://www.peopleforbikes.org
19. Transportation for America: A national campaign
The Transportation for America campaign focuses on building a modernized infrastructure and healthy communities, including: improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists; supporting active lifestyles; and reducing poor air quality.
The campaign is made up of a growing and diverse coalition of groups, including: real estate; housing; environmental; public health; urban planning, and transportation. APHA, NACCHO, and Smart Growth America are all partners of the campaign.
http://t4america.org/
20. Smart Growth
"Smart growth" is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in the center of a city to avoid urban sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a range of housing choices.
The most widely used tool for achieving smart growth is the local zoning law.
Spurring the Smart Growth movement in the United States now are: demographic shifts; a strong environmental ethic; and increased fiscal concerns.
http://www.smartgrowth.org/default.asp
21. The Active Living by Design national program: Community initiatives and lessons learned
Active Living by Design (ALbD) was a community grant program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), which was established to help 25 communities create environments that support active living. Each funded site established a multidisciplinary community partnership and implemented the 5P strategies: preparation, promotions, programs, policy, and physical projects.
This article (American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2009 Dec; 37(6, Suppl. 2): 313-21) describes the valuable lessons provided by ALbD for communities, technical assistance organizations, and funders. Strong local leadership was a key to success and community partnerships benefited considerably from peer-to-peer learning.
The 5P model, while challenging to implement comprehensively, proved to be a useful model for community change.
CSN will provide copies of the article to state Maternal and Child Health and state public health staff on request: csn@edc.org
For more information about the ALbD program, visit http://www.activelivingbydesign.org/
22. Case study compendium: A PBIC report
This report, published by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC), examines best pedestrian and bicycle programs from across the United States and abroad.
Depending on the main program's activity, the case studies are categorized into the following sections: "Comprehensive"; "Education"; "Engineering"; "Encouragement"; and "Planning".
http://drusilla.hsrc.unc.edu/cms/downloads/pbic_case_study_compendium.pdf
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| Safety Guides | |
23. Bicycleinfo: Educating children and teens. - A PBIC resource
This searchable online catalog, created by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC),identifies skills and knowledge that young bicyclists of different ages need to have and matches those needs to existing resources.
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/education/children.cfm
24. Bicycle safety activity kit: A NHTSA publication
NHTSA has put together this manual and its Spanish counterpart, "Seguridad en Bicicletas", to provide parents, caregivers, teachers, community leaders, and children with tools to learn about the important basics of bicycle safety.
This kit can be used in school and community bicycle safety programs or in conjunction with Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs. The kit contains age-appropriate activities emphasizing ways to avoid crashes and related injuries while bicycling. http://www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Bicycles/Bicycle+Safety+Activity+Kit
25. Children's bike sizing guide: A Consumer Reports manual
"There should be 1 to 2 inches of space (stand over height) between your child's crotch area and the bike's top bar. Any less than an inch and the bike is too big for your child. Any more than two inches and the bike is too small."
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/baby/2010/04/childrens-bikes-sizes-size-chart-sizing-guide-helmet-seats.html
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