The Possible Effect on Frequency of Cycling if Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Legislation was Repealed in Sydney, Australia: A Cross Sectional Survey

Australia has national, state and city targets to increase levels of cycling. The possible effect of repealing mandatory bicycle helmet legislation on the frequency of cycling in Sydney is examined in this paper. A cross sectional survey by a market research company was conducted, using quota sampling, in Sydney, Australia. The participants were 600 residents aged 16 years and older. The data was collected in October 2010 using computer-assisted telephone interviews from randomly sampled households, with one respondent per household. The primary outcome measures were propensity to cycle more if a helmet was not required, how often a respondent who cycled would cycle without a helmet, and opinion on compulsory wearing of bicycle helmets. Frequency of cycling, and demographic questions were also assessed. Multiple logistic regression models were run for each of the three main outcomes. The results shows that one in five respondents said they would cycle more if they did not have to wear a helmet, particularly occasional cyclists (40.4% of those who had cycled in the past week and 33.1% of those who had cycled in the past month). Almost half (47.6%) of respondents said they would never ride without a helmet, 14.4% said ‘all the time’, 30.4% said ‘some of the time’ and the rest were not sure. One third of respondents did not support mandatory helmet legislation. A significant proportion of the population would continue to wear helmets even if they were not required to do so.

• Record URL:
  • http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/public-health/prevention-research/pdf/HPJA_2011_Rissel.pdf
• 
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/10361073
• Authors:
  • Rissel, Chris
  • Wen, Li Ming
• Publication Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 178-183
• Serial:
  • Health Promotion Journal of Australia
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals
  • ISSN: 1036-1073
  • Serial URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/22011617

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle helmets; Bicycles; Cyclists; Helmet use; Laws and legislation; Surveys
• Uncontrolled Terms: Helmet laws
• Geographic Terms: Australia
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Policy; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01361020
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 25 2012 2:21PM