Bike helmets 'do not prevent head injuries' new medical study reveals

Canadian researchers said there was no link between the hospitalisation rates with districts that enforced cyclists by law to wear their helmets
No link: Academic research has doubted the effectiveness of bike helmets in terms of preventing injury
Jamie Bullen6 November 2015

Bike helmets have no effect on the number of head injuries caused to cyclists, a new study has claimed.

Canadian researchers from the University of Toronto and University of British Columbia made the assertion after examining hospital rates across several districts over a five year period.

When they compared areas that require cyclists to wear helmets by law against those that don't they said there was no link to show fewer injuries as a result.

According to the study, published in the British Medical Journal, "Helmet legislation was not associated with hospitalisation rates for brain, head, scalp, skull, face or neck injuries".

The research showed riders who lived in the areas with compulsory helmet laws were no more likely to seek medical help than those free to cycle without head protection.

Academics were so taken aback by the results they checked to see if any human error played a part in the findings.

The authors wrote: "Coefficients were all positive — opposite to expectation."

They found female cyclists were less likely to be injured and that areas with more bikes on the roads were safer.

In their conclusion, they stated women were at a lower risk of injury because they "are less likely than men to ride on major city streets or rural roads without bike facilities" than men.

The study comes a year after top London neurosurgeon Henry Marsh called the use of helmets into question by accusing cyclists of wasting their time by wearing them.

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