Primary school ‘De Wieken’ in Kinrooi (Limburg, Belgium) wants to make the bicycle helmet compulsory next school year. The reason for it is a recent accident in which a 10-year-old boy suffered a severe brain injury.

The boy, who did not wear a helmet, was hit by a car while crossing the road and landed on his head. The question now is: should we make wearing a bicycle helmet compulsory?

Helmet reduces head injuries

For the school in Limburg, the decision has been taken. All three hundred pupils will receive a free bicycle helmet from the school and be forced to wear it on the route to and from school.

Also, the traffic safety institute Vias favors a compulsory bicycle helmet. The organization compared several international studies and concluded that wearing a helmet reduces the risk of severe head injuries by 60% in the event of an accident.

Mandatory or not?

Another study indicated that 37% of fatal bicycle crash victims would have survived if they had worn a bicycle helmet. So, for the traffic organization, it’s a no-brainer.

On the other hand, a bicycle helmet offers little or no protection in the event of a collision with a car at high speed or a heavy vehicle. Opinions, therefore, differ when it comes to making a helmet mandatory.

No support for general obligation

Hospital data from the past fifteen years show that children, in particular, often have severe head injuries after a bicycle accident. For this reason, Vias pleads for a compulsory helmet for children younger than fourteen. “But there is currently no support for a general bicycle helmet obligation,” the organization concludes.

However, studies from countries where a bicycle helmet is compulsory show that head injuries have decreased by 20%. So, mandatory helmets for children and adults would probably positively affect road safety.

On the other hand, the bicycle association (Fietsersbond) is clear: no obligation for them. They fear the helmet obligation would discourage people from cycling. “The health benefits of cycling are greater than the risk of injury,” they say. “Let people decide for themselves…”