From: cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.soc
Subject: Re: Request for statistics concerning bicycle helmet use in Holland.
Keywords: Inujuries, solo crashes
Date: 19 Nov 92 01:08:26 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

In article <rlewis.722063028@muskwa.ucs.ualberta.ca> rlewis@muskwa.ucs.ualberta.ca (Robert Lewis) writes:

>     The Dutch travelled a total of 158.8 thousand million 
>     kilometres in 1986.  Private cars did 74%, public 
>     transport 11%, bicycles 7% and mopeds 1% of this.

>     Approximately 22% of the traffic fatalities are
>     cyclists ...

This suggests that the per km fatality rate for bicycles is about 3
times that for cars. This is very much better than in the UK, where
the bicycle/km fatality rate is ten times that for cars. I don't know
the figures for the US, but comparison of other bicycle accident
figures suggests to me that the US bicycle/km fatality rate is a lot
worse than in the UK. In other words, Dutch cyclists are probably
_very_ much safer than US cyclists (which may have a lot to do with
Dutch car drivers).

>In comparing 18 European countries and the U.S.A. in terms of the
>per capita fatalities of cyclists by country:  1) the proportion of
>cyclists killed (%) of the total road accident casualities and,  2)
>the number of cyclists killed in road accidents per 100,000 inhabitants.

>                     (1)          Rank        (2)      Rank 

>France               4.00           4        0.80        6 
>Netherlands         20.41          19**      2.15       19** 
>United Kingdom       5.00           5        0.50        4 
>United States        2.04           2        0.39        3 

>Of course they do not take into account different ammount of
>bicycle use, still they refute the contention that cycling is in
>any sense absolutely safer in Holland than the U. S.  

These per capita figures are _completely_useless_ because they don't
take into account different usages! _Nothing_ about relative safety
levels can be deduced from them!

>>        It is considered the model country for Bicycle use in the
>>Western industrialized world.  

>>Bicycle use is apparently so high
>
>Note not as high as sometimes claimed, 7% of total travel distance

This is _very_ high! Especially when you consider that the bulk of
cycle distance occurs in short urban journeys (which are inherently
more dangerous), whereas cars do a lot of inter-urban travel (which is
inherently safer). In fact, if you consider how much slower is the
average speed of bikes compared to the average speed of cars, it looks
as though the Dutch spend approximately the same amount of time on
bicycles as in cars.

>their own accident statistics strongly suggest that if one feels that
>one should wear a helmet in North America then it is a mistake to feel
>that one doesn't need one there.

I think the accident statisits suggest the opposite, because they
suggest that Dutch cycling is very much safer than US cycling. But it
is wrong to take this a guide to _your_ relative danger, since you are
not going to change from an average US cyclist to an average Dutch
cyclist. You may be safer if the Dutch car drivers are better, but
you'll still be a US cyclist who happens to be cycling in a foreign
country. Part of your need for a helmet is your own riding style.
-- 
Chris Malcolm    cam@uk.ac.ed.aifh          +44 (0)31 650 3085
Department of Artificial Intelligence,    Edinburgh University
5 Forrest Hill, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL, UK                DoD #205
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.soc