Australia’s mandatory helmet law for bicyclists has reduced the number of bicycle-related head injuries. However, there are some people who want to repeal the law. The University of New South Wales and the Sax Institute reported in a joint article that since the law was enacted, injuries were reduced by 29 percent.

Dr. Jake Olivier, the co-author of the article, also said that a repeal of the law would endanger lives. Co-author Raphael Grzebieta said the study supports evidence from experiments and case analyses that helmets avert head injuries, and that it is unwise to ride without a helmet. Despite more than 20 years of statistics supporting the law, the debate over the mandatory helmet law continues. A study by Sydney University called the law a failure and claimed that people were less likely to ride a bike due to the helmet requirement.

Helmets helps, but are not the only necessary precaution

In the UNSW study, the researchers compared the rates of head injury to arm injury and head injury to leg injury for cyclists for the months prior to and after the law was enacted. The decrease was significant. Cyclist head injuries were reduced more than limb injuries, which supported the effectiveness of the law. However, the report conceded that the safety of cyclists depended on a variety of factors, including safe biking, safe driving and environmental factors.

If you’ve been injured by a motorist when you were riding your bicycle, you need to get the driver’s contact information, and go to see a doctor. Bring the medical report and receipt to us. We’ll help you decide if you should file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. If you choose to pursue legal action, we have the experience and knowledge to represent you in your lawsuit.