CYCLING FATALITIES IN CANADA STILL TRACK PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES despite significant uptake in bicycle helmet use, the trend in Canadian cycling fatalities still remains no different from the trend in pedestrian fatalities according to an analysis of latest data from the Canadian government agency, Transport Canada. The updated trend chart now shows data for the 27 year period from 1975 to 2001. Similar findings have been detected in Tom Kunich's analysis of data published by the US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

FLORIDA'S REPEAL OF MOTOR BIKE HELMET LAW HAS NO EFFECT A study* published in the US journal, Evaluation Review showed that the repeal of the mandatory helmet-use law in Florida which was effective July 1, 2001 did not increase serious injuries or fatalities that resulted from motorcycle crashes. The authors state "the notion that Florida’s repeal of its mandatory helmet-use law increased significantly serious injuries and fatalities resulting from motorcycle crashes has been assumed implicitly by policy makers and social scientists alike, but such a belief is not supported by this study." They go on to say "the effect of mandatory helmet-use laws on motorcycle crash injuries and fatalities is an important question that is raised frequently, with scant and often questionable empirical evidence on which to base definitive answers." They suggest that motorcycle safety might be better improved by a shift away from mandatory helmet-use laws to other more effective measures such as driver training and educational programs.
All of this may sound familiar to bicycle helmet skeptics who for years have been saying that helmet laws don't work.

* “BORN TO BE WILD” The Effect of the Repeal of Florida’s Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet-Use Law on Serious Injury and Fatality Rates, Stolzenberg L.,D'Alessio S.J., Florida International University, Evaluation Review, Vol. 27 No. 2, April 2003 131-150

DECLINE IN CYCLING FOLLOWS NOVA SCOTIA HELMET LAW - scrutiny of the underlying data in

BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL ARTICLE DRAWS CRITICISM - a June 10, 2002 article suggests that bicycle helmet use by children is more important than the benefits children gain from cycling. Correspondence from readers questions the credibility of such claims.

US CITY REJECTS HELMET LAW - the Dallas Morning News reports that the City of Richardson, Texas has rejected a proposal to mandate bicycle helmet use.

STILL NO CHANGE IN US CYCLIST FATALITY TRENDS - the trend in US cyclist fatalities remains no different from the trend in US pedestrian fatalities according to latest National Highway Transportation Safety Administration data. Tom Kunich has updated his trend chart with an additional four years of data. The period analyzed now covers fifteen years. Similar findings have been detected from Transport Canada's fatality data. See the analysis of Canadian fatality trends covering the twenty five year period from 1975 to 1999.

"Help get the Facts!" is the slogan of The Bicycle Life's international cycling survey. To add your cycling experiences to the database, click on link at top left of this frame.

COMMENT on the New York Times Helmet Report

NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE QUESTIONS EFFECT OF MASS HELMET USAGE - mainstream media has consistently helped zealous bicycle helmet promoters mislead a gullible North American public regarding the role that helmets play in bicycle safety. Finally, one journalist has figured out there are just too many contradictions in accident data for simple conclusions to be drawn. The questions now being raised by him are the same as the ones we have been raising here for almost a decade. Unfortunately, the article only scratches the surface. It fails to question the myth surrounding the protective value of helmets but rather reinforces that myth by citing as fact a poorly designed (but widely quoted) analysis of accident victims received at Seattle area hospitals during the 1980's.

This issue is far too serious for another 10 years to pass before the media clues in to the fact that helmets have only a very limited role in reducing head injuries to cyclists. (As can be seen from research found on this site, there's no evidence anywhere that helmets save the lives of cyclists as is widely claimed and believed.) Scarce public resources need to be focussed immediately on the most effective cyclist injury prevention method - the acquisition and application of cycling skills.

MAGIC HATS IN ALBERTA. Physicians in Alberta have bestowed magic powers on bicycle helmets. "A 16-year-old cyclist’s life was saved by his helmet Sunday morning after a van drove over his head" according to Calgary neurosurgeon, John Hurlbert in a report in the Calgary Herald. "Without the helmet the victim's head would have been squashed" he added. Apparently this claim is part of Hurlbert's campaign to garner support for mandatory helmet legislation being brought before the Province's legislature. Anyone wishing to make sure that the Alberta government gets better information than that being offered by Hurlbert and his colleagues should contact the government minister responsible for traffic regulations.

HELMET EFFECT STILL UNDETECTABLE IN CANADIAN FATALITY TRENDS - our January 1999 analysis of Canadian road user group fatalities has been revised to include data for 1998 and 1999, and 1999 helmet wearing data from the province of British Columbia. The period covered is now 25 years. As we found before, bicycle helmet use has had no apparent effect on the level of cyclist fatalities. Helmet wearing continues to increase, partly as a result of mandatory helmet legislation in a number of provinces, but the rate of reduction in cyclist fatalities is similar to the prevailing trend for pedestrians, the other vulnerable road user group. As we noticed before, the decline in pedestrian fatalities has been faster than the decline in cyclist fatalities despite increased helmet wearing rates. When we first published our analysis, we identified the need for programs to improve cyclist behaviour and for enforcement of nighttime bicycle lighting equipment requirements as measures which would more effective in reducing cyclist fatalities. There is no evidence that any provincial government is heeding our advice.

STOOGES - WEST COAST STYLE. British Columbia is a province in Canada that elects its governments based on the highest count of marbles its leaders have lost. The existing socialist government, which was the first in Canada to implement a universal helmet law, is so out of touch with reality that both the Green Party and the Marijuana Party are expected to gain more votes in the May 2001 provincial election. So as to maintain BC's prized reputation, the police of BC's capital city plays out its own version of Larry, Curly and Moe when cracking down on crime. Here's a report from one of our West Coast correspondents.

Victoria, BC (allegedly the cycling capital of Canada) - Monday March 19

THE CYCLIST AS BANK ROBBER

Bill Wilson, the Victoria cyclist who's had more than his share of run-ins with Victoria police for what he doesn't wear on his head was apprehended today minutes after allegedly robbing the Victoria Savings Credit Union. " I didn't believe them at first, I thought they were just hassling me as usual for not wearing a helmet" Apparently Wilson matched the bank robber's description as being a "scruffy male in blue jeans". "I know I'm not exactly a " balding man in a business suit" but I do have a problem with being described as "scruffy", it's highly judgemental". Wilson was released without an apology but not until a helmet ticket was written out. "It's interesting that the police say they need more manpower but have the time to tie up two cops and cruisers while a bank robber is at large, I guess we all have our priorities".

Wilson will be disputing the ticket, his last two constitutional challenges to the helmet law were stayed by the crown and the rest of his tickets were thrown out when the police didn't show up in court.
(See earlier report July 1999.)

SOURCES AND LINKS to research and opinion added:

o Characteristics of the Regular Adult Bicycle User, Jerrold Kaplan's 1975 Master's thesis, a pioneering piece of accident research.
o Cycle Helmet: Friend or Foe? - material from British researcher, Mayer Hillman.
o "Do helmets save lives?" asks a sceptical doctor in the Guardian (UK).
o The London Cycling Campaign - Croydon District
o De Clarke's thoughtful remarks on bicycle helmets.

LEAVE CYCLISTS ALONE says article in British Medical Journal. Helmets, Dutch-style facilities, government meddling - all are impediments in the promotion of cycling. Poor analysis of accident data and a low understanding of cycling leads the authorities to take inappropriate measures in the name of safety, author Malcolm Wardlaw seems to suggest.

OHIO THROWS OUT ANTI-CYCLING CASE. Cyclist, Steve Selz, was charged and later found guilty of impeding traffic while riding uphill on a road in Trotwood, Ohio. In October, the Ohio Appellate District reversed the judgment of the trial court. The decision held that the ordinance Steve was charged under could not be read as prohibiting bicyclists from using a public highway since State law allows cyclists to use roads. More at the Ohio Bicycle Federation

In April 2000 we said we thought that US bicycle helmet idiocy had reached a new low. Well, it just got taken a notch lower. According to a Reuters' report rural police in the state of Georgia have so far confiscated bikes from 167 children for their crime of not wearing a helmet.

We've added a link to RILEY GEARY'S REPORT on problems he uncovered with helmet use data contained in the US Federal Accident Reporting System (FARS).

We've added a new page containing links to Canadian highway laws as they relate to cyclists.

IT'S NOT CYCLING THAT'S DANGEROUS - Fifty American motorists are killed in traffic collisions for each one killed riding a bicycle. It has been estimated that half of the motorists die from head trauma. On an exposure basis, the risk of suffering a fatal injury is about twice as high for occupants of motor vehicles. These facts beg the question as to why so much publicity is accorded to cyclist deaths when US motorists are slaughtering each other at the rate of one every fifteen minutes. Or to put it another way, at a rate equivalent to a jumbo jet crash every 2 to 3 days. [Research from the US Department of Transportation's Office of Hazardous Materials Safety and an exposure comparison table compiled by Failure Analysis Associates, a research consulting company.] An even lower risk of suffering a cycling fatality is masked by these statistics. Cycling fatality numbers are inflated by two other factors; the widespread failure of cyclists to use adequate lighting equipment on their bicycles at night and the low standard of cycling skills. These are factors rarely addressed by injury prevention professionals.

ANOTHER COUNTRY SHOWS NO HELMET EFFECT - replicating the findings for Canada , and the United States, John Franklin has prepared a paper charting British cyclist casualty trends showing no helmet effect in Britain despite increasing helmet use among cyclists.

DO THEY PRACTISE WHAT THEY PREACH? if bicycle helmets work as their proponents claim they do, then maybe the latter should follow their own advice when driving their cars. Recent Australian research suggests it could save that country $500 million.

CYCLING FOR HEALTH - "The most important deterrent that non-cyclists express is fear of motor traffic. The fear is exaggerated in comparison with the statistical likelihood of injury" says an editorial in the British Medical Journal.

CYCLING ADVOCACY CHANGES NEEDED. In a paper presented to a meeting of the Cambridge Cycling Campaign, expert witness John Franklin explained how the methods of safety practitioners, health professionals, and cycling advocates has had a negative effect on cycling. He said that the obsession with safety has lowered the public's expectations of cycling as a practical means of transport.

BICYCLE HELMET IDIOCY IN US REACHES NEW LOWS - a Florida policeman was videotaped handcuffing a 9 year old child for riding a bicycle bareheaded in violation of a child helmet law.

THE CAPITAL'S BIKE PATHS - ASSET OR LIABILITY? A visitor comments.

DETAILS OF MODIFICATIONS TO AUSTIN, TEXAS HELMET LAW - in 1997, public opposition forced Austin City Council to water down its universal mandatory helmet law. The Austin situation mirrored that in Canada's Province of Ontario which exempted adults from its law following public protest in 1995. Michael Bluejay of Austin, Texas has posted details.

QUEBECERS SAY ONCE AGAIN "EDUCATION NOT LEGISLATION" - in an update to our report in December 1999 that for the third time in six years the Parti Québecois government of the province of Québec is examining a bicycle helmet legislation proposal, a recent public opinion poll shows the overwhelming majority of Québecers disagree with the government's approach. In a press release, Vélo Québec, the organization which represents transportational and recreational cyclists in Québec, says the government should be focussing on education, and particularly lighting equipment. Energy and public money should be aimed at lighting, the organization says, pointing to statistics that demonstrate 22% to 29% of fatal cycling accidents occur at night (7 to 8 of about 30 annually) while only 1% to 2% of the kilometres travelled by cyclists are logged after dark. Vélo Québec adds, barely one in ten cyclists has adequate lighting.

The HAWAII BICYCLING LEAGUE leads the way in the USA by teaching kids vehicular cycling at school. The League's BikeEd program is based on the principles of John Forester's Effective Cycling.

US HELMET LAWS DUMPED - we have received reports that a child helmet law in Seymour, Connecticut and an adult helmet law in Austin, Texas have been repealed.

REPORT SHOWING NO COST BENEFIT FROM HELMET LAW - from University of Western Australia is now available for viewing.

The BIKE NEWS AGENCY, the HAWAII BICYCLING LEAGUE, and Calgary's ELBOW VALLEY CYCLING CLUB have been added to our list of links.

MOTORIST FAILS TO REDUCE LIABILITY FOR INJURING CYCLIST - according to a recent press release, a negligent motorist's attempt to have her liability reduced because of alleged contributory negligence on the part of a bareheaded cyclist she seriously injured failed in a British court.

CYCLIST SAFETY - bike lane and bike path advocates base much of their argument on the premise that cycling in traffic is dangerous. This argument apparently plays to the common cyclist belief that a cyclist's greatest risk is being struck from behind by a motor vehicle. Facts show the truth to be otherwise.

Competent and lawful cyclists expose themselves to a very small risk of being involved in a collision with a car. Relatively few cycling accidents are of the car/bike variety. Of these, only a tiny proportion involve being sideswiped (1.2%) or rear-ended (1.3%). The latter percentage would be even lower if cyclists riding at night without adequate rear lighting equipment weren't so heavily overrepresented.

Accident types from six American states have been summarized by Carol H. Tan Esse, Highway Research Engineer with the US Federal Highway Administration for the University of North Carolina Safety Research Center.

HELMET LAW REDUCES CYCLING, INCREASES COSTS - a new report by the Road Accident Prevention Research Unit, Dept of Public Health, University of Western Australia indicates that bicycle helmet legislation in WA is not justified by cost benefit analysis.

BICYCLE HELMETS: BUREAUCRACY GONE MAD - how government creates work for itself in Oz.

ANTI-CYCLING MEASURES IN SPAIN - it has been reported that the government of Spain has approved changes to its traffic laws which include a number of anti-cycling measures. With overtones of Orwell's 1984, the measures have been justified on the basis of protecting cyclists on Spanish roads. Among the changes are compulsory helmet use outside of towns, restrictions on two abreast cycling, and requirements to yield right of way to heavier vehicles at junctions and traffic circles. (Although it's not clear what these are.)

The Spanish bicycle organization, Amics de la Bici, e-mail [amicsbici@pangea.org], have requested that foreign cyclists cancel any plans to take holidays in Spain.

A link has been added to PENSYLVANIA BICYCLE DRIVER'S MANUAL. The helmet propaganda is irritating but the rest is sensible advice based on vehicular cycling principles.

QUEBEC ENCORE - for the third time in six years, the government of the province of Quebec is to hold public hearings on a proposal to mandate bicycle helmet use. As a result of opposition from cycling groups led by Velo Quebec in both 1993 and 1996, the previous proposals failed. Now once again, cyclists are targets of a Quebec government that gets bored in years when there's no referendum on the question of Quebec's future in Canada.

Related information:
physicians opposed to legislation
a critique of the position adopted by the government-owned auto insurance corporation.
Velo Quebec's previous opposition en francais

NEW BRITISH REVIEW OF HELMET RESEARCH. British expert witness in bicycle crash litigation, John Franklin, has just completed a review of current bicycle helmet research and published it in a paper The Effectiveness of Cycle Helmets. He concludes that the real-world performance of cycle helmets may be falling well short of the predictions that have been made [in terms of head injury reduction]. Franklin's own web site carries a summary of sources of helmet research.

CRACK DOWN ON CRITICAL MASS LAWBREAKERS IN TORONTO - Toronto police cracked down on participants in a critical mass recently by issuing tickets to some and arresting one. The irresponsible behaviour characterizing critical mass in Toronto has little or nothing to do with improving the environment for cycling and more to do with political ends of anarchists in the cycling community there. One group promoting these events is perversely called Advocacy for Respect of Cyclists (ARC). The effect of ARC's activities is the generation of hostility towards cyclists, not respect. Equal rights on the road also means equal punishment for unlawful behaviour. Crackdowns on driver and cyclist behaviour which threatens the safety of others would be good news for responsible cyclists.

CAN'T SEE THE BIG PICTURE? An article in the British Medical Journal has a reminder for cycling advocates and health professionals to not ignore the savings associated with cycling for a population. This should be required reading for single issue advocates, mostly from outside the cycling community, who are lobbying to outlaw bareheaded cycling. The effect of helmet laws is to discourage cycling among those who ride their bicycles now, and to make it more difficult for potential newcomers to start cycling.

COMMENTARY FROM SCOTLAND - "Cycle safety is more than just a helmet" by Anne Johnstone in the Glasgow Herald.

FACTS FROM MO-BIKERS - Motorcyclists suffer similar results of distortions and massaging of accident data that bicyclists do. A Forbes Magazine article helps set the record straight.

NEW TRANSPORT & REC CYCLING SITE - We've linked to Bicycling Life a new web site dedicated to promoting cycling for its efficiency and enjoyment. A visit is highly recommended.

CLUB HAS BIKE LANES REMOVED TWO WEEKS AFTER BEING PAINTED - the National Capital Commission (NCC), the authority responsible for federal roads in Canada, painted and removed a set of two-way bike lanes on one side of two little used two-way roads in the City of Ottawa, Canada's capital. On discovering that the bike lanes had been painted without prior notice or consultation, representatives of the Ottawa Bicycle Club first protested to the City of Ottawa which owns the roads, and when insufficient interest was shown, took its complaints to the media. The day following the appearance of a letter in The Ottawa Citizen on August 16th, the NCC started to remove the lanes. (Coincidentally, in front of the TV cameras shortly after a follow up interview had been taped!)

INVITES COMMENTS on mandatory helmet laws. As part of the consultation on possible changes to the Province's Traffic Safety Act the Alberta Government has issued a discussion paper and questionnaire (in .pdf format). Among the questions are:

11.0: Should the requirement to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle be included in the regulations for the Traffic Safety Act?

11.1: Should the regulation to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle apply to a select age group only (e.g. under 16 years old)?

BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL DISCUSSION - In surfing the web we found an interesting exchange of views from health professionals following a bicycle helmet comment made by a regular contributor to the British Medical Journal.

THE DUTCH SYSTEM - A CYCLIST'S PARADISE NOT! Visit the Netherlands Board of Tourism's web site, cycling page. Read the Safety, Traffic Rules, and Signposts information and find out how the Board tries to promote their country as a cyclist's paradise and inadvertently shows how cyclists are relegated to second class road users and how their safety is compromised for the convenience of motorists.

BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION REJECTS HELMET LAW AGAIN - once again the national organization representing U.K. physicians dismisses suggestions that laws making helmet use compulsory are good public policy. In an article published in the British Medical Journal, BMJ 1999;318:1505 (5 June), the BMA's Board of Education and Science concludes that legislation to make bicycle helmets compulsory is likely to reduce the number of people choosing to cycle and would not be in the interests of health.

THE CTC APPLAUDS BMA DECISION - The decision was welcomed and endorsed in a press release issued by the Cyclist's Touring Club, the U.K's national cycling organization.

... AND NURSES REBUFFED - nurses campaigning for U.K. cyclists to be obliged to wear helmets were devastated when their congress voted to cut off the debate before a vote was taken, according to a report from the Royal College of Nursing (Nursing Standard, vol 13 no 26, 17-23 Mar 99).

BIG BROTHER TRAMPLES ON CYCLIST'S RIGHTS AGAIN - Victoria, BC cyclist, Bill Wilson appeared in Traffic Court July 7th on yet another Constitutional Challenge to BC's mandatory helmet law. The Crown has been reluctant to proceed with any prosecutions against him but that hasn't stopped the Victoria Police from continuing to issue tickets. "I don't think they have a lot to do other than hassle cyclists and street people" Wilson says. In court, Crown Counsel Bob Jones asked for more time, saying the police were late in sending their file in. Wilson provided a complete written submission and agreed to the adjournment after the Crown promised to provide its submission before the next hearing in late August or September.

Later that afternoon, Crown Counsel advised Wilson they will be staying the proceedings again, this time on the basis that the ticketing Victoria Police officer never showed up in court and the charge should have been dismissed that morning.

THE BICYCLE HELMET FAQ UPDATE - Question 13. How should we interpret clinical studies which claim 85% reduction in the risk of a head injury? has been updated to include a reference to evidence showing cyclists who voluntarily wear helmets are more cautious. This is just another reason why conclusions on the effectiveness of helmets drawn from clinical studies are to be treated with skepticism.

From BC, CANADA'S NO. 1 ANTI-CYCLING PROVINCE - where cyclists are forced to ride on paved shoulders, banned from riding on the roadway if there's a bike path to its right, prohibited from riding two abreast, and are harassed by police if they ride bareheaded - I Fought the Law, a magazine article on one man vs big brother, and Paramedic Zealotry, a report on how emotion comes before reason.

NEW LINK ADDED - to BC Cycling Coalition, an organization formed to promote the interests of BC transportational cyclists.

Just as we finished preparing this web-site update, we received accident statistics just released by the provincially-owned BC Auto Insurance Corp which suggest cycling declined following the implementation of helmet legislation in 1996. We are currently carrying out an analysis to try to determine the reason for an apparent drop of 35% in cyclist injuries (head injuries dropped by only 29%). One explanation is that the police cracked down on speeding and impaired driving. Pedestrian injuries declined also, but by only 7%. Lower participation appears to be a factor in fewer injuries to cyclists.

UK REPORT SHOWS CYCLING ON ROADWAY BEST FOR CYCLISTS. As criticisms mount of systems which segregate cyclists from motor vehicle traffic in the Netherlands and Denmark, a report from England contains evidence indicating that such systems make cycling, a safe activity when practised vehicular-style on roads, more hazardous to cyclists. We've added a direct link to Milton Keynes Redways and Leisure Routes, John Franklin's study of a completely segregated system in Milton Keynes, a planned urban development, one of a number of "new towns" built after the end of World War II.

FROM AUSTRALIA - an article by researcher Dorothy Robinson Helmet Laws and Health and more stats and charts from journalist, Chris Gillham in Compulsory bicycle helmets endanger public health which also includes a contribution from Bill Curnow of Canberra, ACT.

VICTORY IN ALBERTA? Since posting the information below in early April, we've heard that the government of Alberta has resisted pressure to include a bicycle helmet requirement in its revision to the province's Highway Safety Act. In an e-mailed response to one message of protest, the Minister responsible said "the matter of bicycle helmets has been moved to regulations, to allow more time for public consultation." The Alberta Bicycle Association has expressed satisfaction with this development, so it seems for the time being, cyclists in Alberta will not have to suffer another anti-cycling law. We are waiting for further details before calling off our efforts to help in the campaign against helmet legislation.

   NEW LINKS ADDED - to European Cycling Federation, Reading CTC, and the Alberta Bicycle Association.

Helmet FAQ - updated with brief explanation as to how the obsession over bicycle helmets in North America has led the public to believe falsely that cycling, a safe and beneficial activity for all, is dangerous.

SITE UPDATE NOTIFICATION FEATURE - register your e-mail address to receive a notification each time this site is updated. (Now defunct)

CYCLISTS OPPOSED TO MHL IN ALBERTA - once again in Canada, cyclists are lining up against the medical community over helmet legislation, this time in the province of Alberta. And once again, a group of Canadian physicians hasn't done its homework. The British Medical Asociation has more than once thoroughly researched this issue (British Medical Association, 1992, Cycling towards Health & Safety, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-10-286151-4) and as recently as its 1998 AGM it reiterated opposition to helmet laws. Seventeen Canadian physicians from Quebec came to a similar conclusion and made it known in a Public Policy Statement.

The Alberta Bicycle Association, which is the governing body for cycling in the province, has published a firm policy opposing MHL. A local Alberta daily newspaper, the Calgary Herald has also taken a firm stand against helmet laws in an editorial Legal Imperialism. Follow this Campaign link to help Alberta cyclists in their fight against another anti-cycling law.

   CHILDREN KILLED BY HELMETS - a York, Pensylvania child has been suffocated when his helmet caught in play equipment. Six children in Sweden and one in Canada have died in similar incidents.

CYCLING NIGHTMARE IN WESTERN OZ - Perth radio and print journalist, Chris Gillham reports on the sad state of affairs that has occurred in Western Australia as a result of helmet legislation introduced in 1992. Chris has lots of statistics which he is currently analyzing but he sent us an overview of what he has found so far.

A WESTERN AUSTRALIA TRAVEL VIGNETTE by Washington Post writer, Bob Djurdjevic, takes a look at the economic side of helmet laws and their farcical results.

   NEW LINKS ADDED - to Urbancyclist-uk FAQ, a British advocacy group which is monitoring murmerings of a child helmet law in the UK; to listings of US and Canadian (Ontario only) traffic laws; and to interesting research with statistics and charts showing the differing safety perspectives between cyclists in Boston, USA and Paris, France.

In the most recent case, Bill presented a written submission claiming that the law violated his rights under section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. After being given a month by the presiding judge to rebut Bill's opening argument, in mid-January the Crown backed down by invoking its right to stay proceedings. This effectively allows Bill to continue to ride bareheaded unhindered. Bill, who has defended himself in all cases, says that apart from the discriminatory nature of BC's helmet law, City police continue to waste public resources in harassing him and other bareheaded cyclists even though the same police department is closing neighbourhood police stations to cut costs. He is prepared to provide free advice to anyone else wishing to fight a ticket issued under BC's helmet law. Send a message to avery@magma.ca to contact Bill.

It is clear that there is reasonable doubt as to the constitutionality of bicycle helmet laws in Canada. Since BC has indeed discriminated against him under Section 2 of the Charter, it is necessary for the Crown to show that such discrimination is "demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society". In other words, the onus is on the Crown, not the defendant, to demonstrate with the evidence it presented during committee hearings, that the violation of Bill's rights is justified. This will not be easy, since very little evidence, only motherhood stuff, is contained in the public record.

Cycling organizations opposed to bicycle helmet legislation from across Canada will be watching this case with interest as bicycle helmet legislation also exists in Ontario (children only), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

HELMET EFFECT UNDETECTABLE IN CANADIAN FATALITY TRENDS - an analysis of road user group fatalities over a 23 year period failed to detect any effect of the growth of bicycle helmet use in Canada. Despite the increase in helmet wearing, partly resulting from mandatory helmet legislation in three provinces, the rate of reduction in cyclist fatalities mirrors the prevailing trend for pedestrians, the other vulnerable road user group. (The decline in cyclist fatalities has actually been less rapid than the decline in pedestrian fatalities.) Programs aimed at improving motorist behaviour have been effective in reducing fatalities among all user groups. Evidence points to the need for improvement in cyclist behaviour and enforcement of nighttime bicycle lighting equipment requirements.

IT'S SAFER TO RIDE ON THE ROAD - highlights of Lisa Aultman-Hall's studies of cycling on sidewalks and bike paths in Toronto and Ottawa.

ANTI-CYCLING BIKEWAY ACTIVISTS - newspaper article on how some cycling activists undermine cyclists' rights.

UK DOCTORS REJECT MHL AGAIN - the British Medical Association, at its July 1998 Annual Meeting, showed a far better understanding of the benefits of cycling than its North American counterparts, the AMA and the CMA, and once again rejected a motion calling for compulsory bicycle helmet legislation. The BMA's consistent opposition can be traced to Mayer Hillman's 1992 report, Cycling towards Health & Safety (Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-10-286151-4) which the BMA commissioned. It found the benefits of cycling in terms of life years gained far outweighed the life years lost from fatal cycling accidents. A report on this year's discussion can be found in the August 1998 Newsletter of the Cambridge Cycling Campaign.

TWO YEARS AFTER QUEBEC'S PROPOSED HELMET LAW WAS ARCHIVED - we have found and linked to the English version of the persuasive arguments of three of 17 physicians who publicly opposed helmet legislation. We've also included Claire Morrisette's 1994 (but still relevant) analysis of the position and patronizing attitude towards cyclists adopted by powerful provincially-owned auto insurance corporation, the organization behind Quebec's failed helmet proposal.

  CAR HELMETS AGAIN! - last October, we told you about the findings of a study on the use of car helmets in Australia. This time we have a report on the fall out in New Zealand.

NEW LINKS to interesting opinions and research on vehicular cycling.

HELMET FAQ ADDED - In response to readers' requests we've added a Helmet FAQ which pulls no punches in answering many difficult questions raised by cyclists who are confused by conflicting information they get about helmet use and its effectiveness. We've drawn on reliable international research and other sources, and where possible, linked these to our answers.

COMMENTS ON CPSC HELMET STANDARD AND US FATALITY TRENDS - Reader, Tom Kunich of Fremont, California comments on CPSC's amendment to its bicycle helmet standard. He also charts trends in US cyclist and pedestrian fatalities from National Highway Transportation Safety Administration data over an eleven year period.

ABSTRACT OF NEW ZEALAND STUDY - At the February 1996 International Conference on Injury Prevention and Control held in Melbourne, Australia, Paul Scuffham upset the helmet establishment by presenting a paper showing no benefit from large increases in bicycle helmet use in New Zealand. The subsequent article he authored with John Langley was published in the journal, Accident Analysis and Prevention.