A recent study reveals a steady increase in cycling injuries after the helmet law. Between 1991 and 2000, arm injuries doubled (indicating a doubling in accidents), while head injuries increased by 40%. A 1996 cycling survey in Sydney revealed that cycling counts were 48% below 1991. According to the census, cycling in Sydney slightly decreased between 1996 and 2001. This [...]
Archive for the ‘Propaganda’ Category
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Trying to deny that the helmet law reduces cycling
November 11th, 2012 
admin Abstract Cycling was rising strongly in Australia before the helmet law, by 10% per year. This uptrend was replaced by a sharp decline of 30 to 40% after the helmet law. A government-funded study has misrepresented a bicycle rally passing through a counting site as a revival in cycling numbers, obfuscating the decline in cycling after the [...]
Misguided doctors or marketing agents?
June 11th, 2012 admin Abstract In the 1980′s, Bell, a helmet manufacturer, was keen to expand the market for bicycle helmets, its most profitable product. It approached the Snell foundation and offered funding for research on bicycle helmets. The Snell foundation chose avid bicycle helmet lobbyists to conduct this “research”. Those helmet lobbyists first “research” claimed that helmets reduce [...]
My helmet saved my life!
May 5th, 2012 admin Abstract Despite many emotional claims that “my helmet saved my life”, the risk of death & serious injury increased after the helmet law. The risk of accident almost doubled, but the protection provided by helmets did not compensate for the rise in accidents. What the data tells us The claim that “my helmet saved [...]
Trying to deny that helmets can aggravate brain injury
March 31st, 2012 admin Abstract Several studies have reported that bicycle helmets tend to increase rotational acceleration in an accident, increasing the risk of serious brain injury. The Australian government has funded a study that attempts to deny this. The study set up unrealistic conditions where rotational acceleration is low. The study results are arbitrarily generalized to all helmets in [...]
The emergence of policy-driven studies
March 18th, 2012 admin Abstract In the mid 1990′s, evidence emerged that the bicycle helmet law had failed to reduce the risk of cycling injuries. The Australian government responded by funding “studies” that exaggerate the benefits of helmets while ignoring their dangerous side-effects. Such policy-driven studies are used in official government communications to defend its policy, showing a dangerous [...]
Misguided study affected by confirmation bias
November 20th, 2011 admin Abstract Some studies attempt to “prove” that helmets reduce injuries rather than genuinely attempt to understand their actual protective effects. Bold claims are made despite not being supported by the data. While such studies are well meaning, their misleading claims can push people towards false solutions to cycling safety. One example is this study, that states it [...]
Deceptive ad portraying cycling as dangerous
June 18th, 2011 admin The Roads & Traffic Authority of NSW has commissioned an advertising campaign to promote bicycle helmets. As many of those campaigns are, it is deceptive, while portraying cycling as more dangerous than it really is. Here is a short extract from the ad: “Don’t think that little ride to the shops warrants wearing [a helmet]? [...]
Misleading “study” from a government agency
June 6th, 2011 admin In 2000, the Australia Safety Transport Bureau (ATSB), a government agency, released a “meta-analysis”, that claims to provide overwhelming evidence that bicycle helmets reduce the risk of brain injury. This claim was rebutted in 2003, highlighting a lack of understanding of scientific mechanism of brain injury, failing to take into account rotational acceleration: “This examination concentrates [...]
The 3rd International Conference on Injury Prevention and Control
December 26th, 2010 admin The 3rd International Conference on Injury Prevention and Control [NOTE: The official Web site for this conference, which was formerly located at www.nisu.flinders.edu.au, is no longer available. Links from this page have been removed accordingly. ] The 3rd International Conference on Injury Prevention and Control was held in Melbourne, Australia from February 18-22 1996. For bicycle [...]
