Riding a bike can save gas, prevent pollution via engine emissions, and provide exercise for the entire family. However, riding a bike also carries a degree of risk, particularly when riding on public roads. By promoting safe practices for bike riding, riders can enjoy this mode of transportation without incurring any personal harm.
Educated Traffic
Traffic safety education programs can help bikes and motor vehicles to safely share public streets, notes the Minnesota traffic safety program, Share the Road. Safety programs can enable bikers to observe and obey traffic signals; keep motorists aware of the presence of bikes; and educate both parties about yielding to the right of way, which is the top reason for bike-motor collisions, notes Share the Road.
Decreased Head Injury
A 1996 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that bike helmet use prevented the severity of head injuries in crashes which both did and did not involve motor vehicles. Researchers noted that factors including the type of bike helmet, the age of the biker, or the type of motor vehicle involved in the collision did not add any significant differences to the effects of helmet use.
Improved Infrastructure
Improvements to public facilities such as designated bike lanes and paths, increased street lighting, and paved streets can boost the safety of bikers without requiring their compliance, notes the journal Environmental Health. Individuals reluctant to wear helmets can still benefit from safer bike conditions during independent use, states the journal.
Decreased Bike Use
Laws requiring helmet use in 20 U.S. States has lead to decreased use of bikes among youths, notes researchers Christopher S. Carpenter and Mark F. Stehr in their paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research entitled, “The Intended and Unintended Effects of Youth Bicycle Helmet Laws.” Helmet costs, social stigmas of wearing a helmet, and unregulated sports such as skateboarding which do not mandate helmet use may all contribute to a decline in bike use, suggest the researchers.
References
- Share the Road: The Minnesota Bicycle Safety Education Program
- JAMA: Effectiveness of Bicycle Safety Helmets in Preventing Head Injuries
- Environmental Health: The Impact of Transportation Infrastructure on Bicycling Injuries and Crashes: A Review of the Literature
- Ideoblog: Helmet Laws and Bicycle Riding
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