Bicycle helmet use among Maryland children : effect of legislation and education

Although bicycle helmets are effective in preventing head injuries, use of helmets among children remains infrequent. In response to the bicycling deaths of two children, Howard County, Maryland, became the first US jurisdiction to mandate use of bicycle helmets for children. Schoolchildren were lec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Pediatrics (Evanston) Vol. 89; no. 6; pp. 1216 - 1220
Main Authors:	COTE, T. R, SACKS, J. J, LAMBERT-HUBER, D. A, DANNENBERG, A. L, KRESNOW, M.-J, LIPSITZ, C. M, SCMIDT, E. R
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elk Grove Village, IL American Academy of Pediatrics 01-06-1992
Subjects:	Accidents Adolescent Adult Athletic Injuries - prevention & control Bicycling - education Bicycling - injuries Bicycling - legislation & jurisprudence Biological and medical sciences Child Children's accidents Cycling Head Protective Devices - utilization Helmets Humans Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents Maryland Medical sciences Prevention Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents Maryland Human Nervous system diseases Head Crash helmet Legislation Diseases of the osteoarticular system Method Bicycle Health education Trauma Prevention Adolescent Skull Child Comparative study
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Summary:	Although bicycle helmets are effective in preventing head injuries, use of helmets among children remains infrequent. In response to the bicycling deaths of two children, Howard County, Maryland, became the first US jurisdiction to mandate use of bicycle helmets for children. Schoolchildren were lectured by police about the law before its enactment. Prelaw and postlaw helmet use was observed in Howard County and two control counties: Montgomery (which sponsored a community education program) and Baltimore County (no helmet activities). Prelaw crude helmet use rates for children were 4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0% to 10%) for Howard, 8% (95% CI 3% to 13%) for Montgomery, and 19% (95% CI 5% to 33%) for Baltimore. Postlaw rates were 47% (95% CI 32% to 62%), 19% (95% CI 11% to 27%), and 4% (95% CI 0 to 11%), respectively. The rate of bicycle helmet use by Howard County children is now the highest documented for US children. A similar increase in helmet use among children younger than 16 years nationwide could prevent about 100 deaths and 56,000 emergency-department-treated head injuries annually. Physicians and other health professionals should consider proposing and supporting the Howard County approach in their communities.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0031-4005 1098-4275
DOI:	10.1542/peds.89.6.1216