No proof to support need for helmet law
Helmets do save lives
Letter, Nov. 9.
Dr. Charles Tator states that statistics show helmets
can prevent the majority of deaths from head injury among
bicyclists. I have been researching helmet use and efficacy,
as well as other cycling accident data, for more than 10 years
and there is no scientific evidence to support his claim. In
28 years of Transport Canada data, the fatality trend for
cyclists has been almost identical to that of pedestrians,
despite that over the period as many as 50 per cent of
cyclists have taken up helmet use.
Since pedestrians and car users suffer far more head
injuries than cyclists, why doesn't Tator request his friends
at the Legislature to extend the bill to include these road
user categories? After all, when a head suffers a debilitating
blow, does it make any difference whether it is the head of a
cyclist, a motorist or a pedestrian? Cyclists account for only
1.6 per cent of Ontario traffic fatalities (about 20 per annum
in Ontario). Science is on our side.
Avery Burdett,
Accident Researcher, Ontario Coalition for Better Cycling,
Ottawa
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