Australia: Cycling dangerous, but healthy.

It is frustrating to realize that the idea of wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle still meets with opposition, and that governments have to enact laws to make such use compulsory.

From the British website BikeBiz.com comes a report of a study by The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, a branch of the Australian government's Department of Transport.

In the 1990's Australia became the fisrt nation to make helmet use compulsory, and with word that "35+ cyclists die on Australian roads each year", a new study called  'Cycle safety: a national perspective', published in December, said that while the risks of cycling should not be ignored, they must be considered with the benefits.

"The overall community benefits gained from regular cycling are likely to outweigh the loss of life through cycling accidents," said the ATSB report.

The ATSB found the number of cyclists killed on the roads was seven times fewer than the number of pedestrians, but there's no helmet compulsion law for pedestrians.

The report also cites the 2003 findings of P. Jacobsen that the more cyclists on the roads - with or without helmets - the safer it is for all cyclists.

"While it would seem logical that encouraging cycling would lead to an increase in cyclist deaths and injuries, a recent study found this was not the case in a number of European and Californian towns and cities. The study found that an increase in the number of cyclists in these towns and cities was associated with a reduction in the rate of deaths and serious injuries."

In a footnote, the ATSB report says that data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that "the vast majority of cyclist deaths occur on public roads and involve a motor vehicle."

BikeBiz notes that elsewhere on the ATSB site is a study regarding helmet use:

Elsewhere on the ATSB website, but not cited by 'Cycle safety', there's a road safety research paper that demonstrates that many lives would be saved if motorists wore cycle helmets.

'Prevention of Head Injuries to Car Occupants: An Investigation of Interior' concludes that "protective headwear, similar to a soft shell pedal cycle helmet, is estimated to be much more effective than padding the car in preventing cases of fatal brain injury and in improving the outcome in cases of severe brain injury."

BikeBiz provides links to both studies, plus a link to a list of other related stories.

Lid law land agrees that health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks.