BICYCLE HELMET USE AMONG MARYLAND CHILDREN: EFFECT OF LEGISLATION AND EDUCATION

Even though bicycle helmets are effective in preventing head injuries, their use among children remains infrequent. Howard County, Maryland, became the first U.S. jurisdiction to mandate bicycle helmet use for children. Police lectured schoolchildren about the law before enactment. Pre-law and post-law helmet use was observed in Howard County and 2 control counties in Maryland: Montgomery (with a community education program) and Baltimore (no helmet education). Pre-law crude helmet use rates for children were 4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0-10%) for Howard, 8% (95% CI 3-13%) for Montgomery, and 19% (95% CI 5-33%) for Baltimore. Post-law rates were 47% (95% CI 32-62%), 19% (95% CI 11-27%), and 4% (95% CI 0-11%), respectively. The rate of bicycle helmet use by Howard County children is now the highest documented for U.S. children. Physicians and other health professionals should consider proposing and supporting the Howard County approach in their communities.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00314005
• Corporate Authors:

  American Academy of Pediatrics

  141 Northwest Point Boulevard, P.O. Box 927
  Elk Grove, IL  United States  60009-0937
• Authors:
  • Cote, T R
  • Sacks, J J
  • Lambert-Huber, D A
  • Dannenberg, A L
  • Kresnow, M
  • Lipsitz, C M
  • Schmidt, E R
• Publication Date: 1992-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 1216-20
• Serial:
  • Pediatrics
  • Volume: 89
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics
  • ISSN: 0031-4005
  • EISSN: 1098-4275
  • Serial URL: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Before and after studies; Bicycle crashes; Bicycle helmets; Head; Injuries; Laws and legislation; School children; Traffic safety education
• Geographic Terms: Maryland
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Highways; Law; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00780079
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 19 1999 12:00AM