Cycle helmet wearing in Great Britain

This research has quantified cycle helmet wearing rates and the attitudes of UK cyclists to cycle helmets. Wearing rate data were collected at 61 sites around the UK. Analyses of the 27,417 cyclists surveyed revealed that 16% wore helmets and that more females wore helmets than males. Attitudinal data were gathered from face-to-face interviews with 978 respondents conducted in households, on the street and at schools. Respondents were selected using a quota based strategy. Questionnaires were used to target the following groups: non-cycling and cycling adults; cycling children and cyclists aged 16 or more on the street. Respondents were asked about why they did or did not wear a helmet, what had influenced their choice of helmet, what they liked and disliked about the helmet designs, what activities they wore helmets for, how much protection they thought that helmets offered, whether or not wearing a helmet had affected how they cycled and how helmet wearing should be encouraged. It was found that differences in attitudes to cycle helmets existed in three age group: 9-11 years, 12-17 years and over 18 years. Few differences were found to exist between the attitudes of wearers and non-wearers. (A)