A comparison of the effect of different bicycle helmet laws in 3 New York City suburbs.
D R Puder,
P Visintainer,
D Spitzer and
D Casal
Department of Pediatrics, Nyack Hospital, NY, USA.
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectivenessof 3 different bicycle helmet laws. METHODS: A direct observationalstudy of nearly 1000 cyclists at 20 matched sites in each of3 contiguous counties--Rockland and Westchester in New Yorkand Fairfield in Connecticut--was carried out. Rockland's bicyclehelmet law requires approved helmets for all cyclists regardlessof age; Westchester's, by state law, requires cyclists youngerthan 14 years to wear helmets; and Fairfield's, also by statelaw, requires cyclists younger than 12 years to wear helmetswhen riding on highways. RESULTS: Rockland cyclists had thehighest helmet use rate (35%), followed by Westchester (24%)and Fairfield (14%) cyclists. As a subgroup, teenagers usedhelmets least, a trend that was seen in all 3 counties. CONCLUSIONS:Our study suggests a positive effect of bicycle helmet legislationwith no age limitation.
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