New Zealand (NZ) helmet law (all ages) came into effect from 1 January 1994. It followed Australian helmet laws, introduced in 1990-1992. Survey data from Australia indicated legislation was a poor approach as it discouraged cycling—e.g. child cycle use fell 44% by the second year of the helmet law in New South Wales, Australia.1A NZ report from 1985 by Sage et al2 detailed that out of 20 bicycle riders fatally injured in Auckland, between 1974 and 1984, 16 died (80%) of injury to multiple organ systems and suggested that not many lives could be saved by wearing helmets.The aim of the study was therefore to review the efficacy of the New Zealand's bicycle helmet law in terms of safety, health, law enforcement, accident compensation, environmental issues and civil liberties.Method This evaluation reviews publically available data and analyses3-7,9 to assess the outcome for cycling activity levels, safety, health, law enforcement, accident compensation, environmental issues and civil liberties. The data compares cyclists to pedestrians and evaluates changes to population and road safety trends. A summary and conclusions draw together the findings and suggests the best way forward. Results and Assessments Changes in walking and cycling activity—Consideration of both cycling and walking may provide a clearer indication of overall changes in physical activity. Table 1 provides survey information on hours walked and cycled for four time periods.3,4 Estimates for the NZ population are shown for each period. Table 1. Comparison (from 1989-90 to 2006-09) of average time per person walking and cycling in NZ Period Estimated NZ population 1989-1990 3,407,000 1997-1998 3,770,000 2003-2006 4,080,000 2006-2009 4,250,000 Hours spent walking per year (million hours) 191 215 199 212 Hours spent cycling per year (million hours) 39 26 22 24 Average hours walked per person (% change from 89-90 period) 56 57 (+2%) 49 (-12%) 50 (-11%) Average hours cycled per person (% change from 89-90 period) 11.4 6.9 (-40%) 5.4 (-53%) 5.6 (-51%) Sources: 1989-2006 data: Sustainable and safe land transport trends and indicators3; 2006-2009 data: Cycling for transport: Ongoing New Zealand Household Travel Survey 2006-20094 As shown in Table 1, from the period 1989-1990 to 2006-2009, the number of hours cycling reduced—from 39 million to 24 million. The average hours walked and cycled per person reduced by 11% and 51% respectively. The NZ Ministry of Transport stated ‘The travel surveys show that from 1989/90 to 2005/08, the average time spent cycling per week decreased from 28 minutes to 8 minutes among those aged 5-12 years and from 52 minutes to 12 minutes among those aged 13-17 years.'5 Averaging data for the two age groups implies a 75% reduction for children aged 5-17 from 40 minutes to 10 minutes per person per week. In addition,concerns were expressed about the safety outcome ‘Of particular concern are children and adolescents who have experienced the greatest increase in the risk of cycling injuries despite a substantial decline in the amount of cycling over the past two decades'.6 Tin Tin et al also reported ‘In New Zealand, the overall travel mode share for cycling declined steadily from 4% in 1989 to 1% in 2006'.6 If people cycle less and this in turn reduces their overall fitness it could contribute to them walking less as well. The survey information 1989/90-2003/06 suggests a drop of 53% and indicates that the helmet law discouraged cycling to a significant extent. Fatality comparison, cyclist vs pedestrians (1989-2009)—The fatality data7 shows a significant reduction for both cyclists and pedestrians over the past two decades. Table 2. Annual NZ fatalities of cyclists compared to pedestrians (1989-2009) Year 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Pedestrians (n) Cyclists (n) 81 20 104 27 88 22 76 17 74 17 54 15 71 15 63 13 54 12 71 16 63 8 Cyclists / Pedestrians (%) 25 26 25 22 23 28 21 21 22 22 13 Year 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Pedestrians Cyclists 35 19 52 10 45 14 58 6 38 7 31 12 44 9 45 12 31 10 31 8 Cyclists / Pedestrians (%) 54 19 31 10 18 39 18 27 32 26 Source: http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/Documents/Motor-Vehicle-Crashes-2010-Historical.pdf A simple calculation, from the data in Table 2, shows that, for the 5-year period 1989 to 1993, the 103 cyclist deaths represented 24% of the number (423) for pedestrians. For the 4-year period 2006-2009, cyclist deaths were 41 compared to 151 for pedestrians or 27%. Increasing the totals to equate pre law levels of cycling and walking (average hours walked and cycling reduced by 11% and 51%), would give totals of 83 and 170. This indicates that cyclist safety, compared to pedestrians, has reduced appreciably from 24% to the equivalent of 49% (83/170). In 1990 cyclist deaths were nearly a quarter of pedestrians in number but by the 2006-09 period, the equivalent figure was near to 50% when adjusted for changes to hours cycled and walked. The information from Table 1 on average hours walked and cycled, together with fatality data from Table 2 allows rates to be calculated relative to the time spent walking or cycling, and the relative risk for pedestrians and cyclists to be compared for the different time periods (Table 3). Table 3. Relative risk of cycling versus walking: average pedestrian and cyclist deaths per year compared to average hours walked and cycled Period 1989-1990 1997-1998 2003-2006 2006-2009 Pedestrian deaths / average per year Average hours walked per person Pedestrian, deaths / average hours walked Cyclist deaths / average per year Average hours cycled per person Cyclist, deaths / average hours cycled Risk ratio, cyclist / pedestrian 185 / 92.5 56 1.65 47 / 23.5 11.4 2.05 1.24 125 / 62.5 57 1.10 28 / 14 6.9 2.03 1.85 171 / 42.75 49 0.87 34 / 8.5 5.4 1.57 1.80 151 / 37.75 50 0.75 41 /10.25 5.6 1.83 2.44 Source: Calculations from the data in Tables 1 and 2. Sage et al2 stated “This study indicates that compulsory wearing of suitable safety helmets by cyclists is unlikely to lead to a great reduction in fatal injuries, despite their enthusiastic advocacy\". The details provided show about 46% of cyclists' deaths (in Auckland 1974-1984) were children aged 6-15 years. Collins et al reported that 39% of all cyclist fatalities in NZ occurred to those aged 5-14 years for the period 1979/88.8 For the age group 5-17 years they may have traditionally incurred about 45% or more of cyclist fatalities and they had a reduction in cycling of about 75%. Injury assessment—Selected data in Table 4 below is from a recent study by Tin Tin et al6 plus additional data showing the percentage change (bold) from 1988-91. Table 4. Annual numbers and rates of traffic injuries on NZ roads that resulted in death or hospital inpatient treatment Mode of travel Annual number of injuries Annual number of injuries per million hours spent travelling (change relative to 1988-91) 1988-91 1996-99 2003-07 1988-91 1996-99 2003-07 Overall Cyclists 941 512 682 25.61 21.38 (-17) 30.74 (+20) Car/van driver 2081 2051 1714 4.24 3.22 (-24) 2.10 (-50) Car/van passenger 1568 1428 1086 5.64 4.67 (-17) 2.89 (-49) Motorcyclist 1655 895 784 185.14 161.77 (-13) 107.64 (-42)

New Zealand (NZ) helmet law (all ages) came into effect from 1 January 1994. It followed Australian helmet laws, introduced in 1990-1992. Survey data from Australia indicated legislation was a poor approach as it discouraged cycling—e.g. child cycle use fell 44% by the second year of the helmet law in New South Wales, Australia.1A NZ report from 1985 by Sage et al2 detailed that out of 20 bicycle riders fatally injured in Auckland, between 1974 and 1984, 16 died (80%) of injury to multiple organ systems and suggested that not many lives could be saved by wearing helmets.The aim of the study was therefore to review the efficacy of the New Zealand's bicycle helmet law in terms of safety, health, law enforcement, accident compensation, environmental issues and civil liberties.Method This evaluation reviews publically available data and analyses3-7,9 to assess the outcome for cycling activity levels, safety, health, law enforcement, accident compensation, environmental issues and civil liberties. The data compares cyclists to pedestrians and evaluates changes to population and road safety trends. A summary and conclusions draw together the findings and suggests the best way forward. Results and Assessments Changes in walking and cycling activity—Consideration of both cycling and walking may provide a clearer indication of overall changes in physical activity. Table 1 provides survey information on hours walked and cycled for four time periods.3,4 Estimates for the NZ population are shown for each period. Table 1. Comparison (from 1989-90 to 2006-09) of average time per person walking and cycling in NZ Period Estimated NZ population 1989-1990 3,407,000 1997-1998 3,770,000 2003-2006 4,080,000 2006-2009 4,250,000 Hours spent walking per year (million hours) 191 215 199 212 Hours spent cycling per year (million hours) 39 26 22 24 Average hours walked per person (% change from 89-90 period) 56 57 (+2%) 49 (-12%) 50 (-11%) Average hours cycled per person (% change from 89-90 period) 11.4 6.9 (-40%) 5.4 (-53%) 5.6 (-51%) Sources: 1989-2006 data: Sustainable and safe land transport trends and indicators3; 2006-2009 data: Cycling for transport: Ongoing New Zealand Household Travel Survey 2006-20094 As shown in Table 1, from the period 1989-1990 to 2006-2009, the number of hours cycling reduced—from 39 million to 24 million. The average hours walked and cycled per person reduced by 11% and 51% respectively. The NZ Ministry of Transport stated ‘The travel surveys show that from 1989/90 to 2005/08, the average time spent cycling per week decreased from 28 minutes to 8 minutes among those aged 5-12 years and from 52 minutes to 12 minutes among those aged 13-17 years.'5 Averaging data for the two age groups implies a 75% reduction for children aged 5-17 from 40 minutes to 10 minutes per person per week. In addition,concerns were expressed about the safety outcome ‘Of particular concern are children and adolescents who have experienced the greatest increase in the risk of cycling injuries despite a substantial decline in the amount of cycling over the past two decades'.6 Tin Tin et al also reported ‘In New Zealand, the overall travel mode share for cycling declined steadily from 4% in 1989 to 1% in 2006'.6 If people cycle less and this in turn reduces their overall fitness it could contribute to them walking less as well. The survey information 1989/90-2003/06 suggests a drop of 53% and indicates that the helmet law discouraged cycling to a significant extent. Fatality comparison, cyclist vs pedestrians (1989-2009)—The fatality data7 shows a significant reduction for both cyclists and pedestrians over the past two decades. Table 2. Annual NZ fatalities of cyclists compared to pedestrians (1989-2009) Year 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Pedestrians (n) Cyclists (n) 81 20 104 27 88 22 76 17 74 17 54 15 71 15 63 13 54 12 71 16 63 8 Cyclists / Pedestrians (%) 25 26 25 22 23 28 21 21 22 22 13 Year 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Pedestrians Cyclists 35 19 52 10 45 14 58 6 38 7 31 12 44 9 45 12 31 10 31 8 Cyclists / Pedestrians (%) 54 19 31 10 18 39 18 27 32 26 Source: http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/Documents/Motor-Vehicle-Crashes-2010-Historical.pdf A simple calculation, from the data in Table 2, shows that, for the 5-year period 1989 to 1993, the 103 cyclist deaths represented 24% of the number (423) for pedestrians. For the 4-year period 2006-2009, cyclist deaths were 41 compared to 151 for pedestrians or 27%. Increasing the totals to equate pre law levels of cycling and walking (average hours walked and cycling reduced by 11% and 51%), would give totals of 83 and 170. This indicates that cyclist safety, compared to pedestrians, has reduced appreciably from 24% to the equivalent of 49% (83/170). In 1990 cyclist deaths were nearly a quarter of pedestrians in number but by the 2006-09 period, the equivalent figure was near to 50% when adjusted for changes to hours cycled and walked. The information from Table 1 on average hours walked and cycled, together with fatality data from Table 2 allows rates to be calculated relative to the time spent walking or cycling, and the relative risk for pedestrians and cyclists to be compared for the different time periods (Table 3). Table 3. Relative risk of cycling versus walking: average pedestrian and cyclist deaths per year compared to average hours walked and cycled Period 1989-1990 1997-1998 2003-2006 2006-2009 Pedestrian deaths / average per year Average hours walked per person Pedestrian, deaths / average hours walked Cyclist deaths / average per year Average hours cycled per person Cyclist, deaths / average hours cycled Risk ratio, cyclist / pedestrian 185 / 92.5 56 1.65 47 / 23.5 11.4 2.05 1.24 125 / 62.5 57 1.10 28 / 14 6.9 2.03 1.85 171 / 42.75 49 0.87 34 / 8.5 5.4 1.57 1.80 151 / 37.75 50 0.75 41 /10.25 5.6 1.83 2.44 Source: Calculations from the data in Tables 1 and 2. Sage et al2 stated “This study indicates that compulsory wearing of suitable safety helmets by cyclists is unlikely to lead to a great reduction in fatal injuries, despite their enthusiastic advocacy\". The details provided show about 46% of cyclists' deaths (in Auckland 1974-1984) were children aged 6-15 years. Collins et al reported that 39% of all cyclist fatalities in NZ occurred to those aged 5-14 years for the period 1979/88.8 For the age group 5-17 years they may have traditionally incurred about 45% or more of cyclist fatalities and they had a reduction in cycling of about 75%. Injury assessment—Selected data in Table 4 below is from a recent study by Tin Tin et al6 plus additional data showing the percentage change (bold) from 1988-91. Table 4. Annual numbers and rates of traffic injuries on NZ roads that resulted in death or hospital inpatient treatment Mode of travel Annual number of injuries Annual number of injuries per million hours spent travelling (change relative to 1988-91) 1988-91 1996-99 2003-07 1988-91 1996-99 2003-07 Overall Cyclists 941 512 682 25.61 21.38 (-17) 30.74 (+20) Car/van driver 2081 2051 1714 4.24 3.22 (-24) 2.10 (-50) Car/van passenger 1568 1428 1086 5.64 4.67 (-17) 2.89 (-49) Motorcyclist 1655 895 784 185.14 161.77 (-13) 107.64 (-42)