Winter 2007 Editorial
We believe that laws that require the wearing of motorcycle helmets and bicycle helmets are important components of any helmet promotion program. Compulsory wearing laws increase the wearing rates, and when wearing rates are high, head injuries decrease. But helmet laws alone may not be effective in sustaining high helmet wearing rates.

This issue of Headlines highlights several articles that examined bicycle and motorcycle wearing rates and compulsory laws. In Japan, where some schools required junior high school children to wear bicycle helmets during their school commute, head injury rates - as measured by insurance claims - were lower than those in schools without school regulations requiring helmets. In the United States, the requirements of the law in place makes a difference. In the United States, wearing requirements for motorcycle helmets are different in each of the 50 states, and injury patterns vary by the type of law in effect. In states with universal laws - that is, laws requiring helmets for all riders and passengers, regardless of their age, motorcyclists hospitalized for injuries were less likely to die during the hospitalization, were less likely to sustain severe traumatic brain injury, and were less likely to be discharged to long-term care facilities. Injured motorcyclists in these states were also more likely to have private health insurance that paid for their care. In states where helmets were not required, or required for only motorcyclists under a certain age or with less experience, the picture for hospitalized motorcyclists was different. They were more likely to die, have traumatic brain injury, and be discharged to long-term care facilities. And they were more likely to have no private insurance which placed the burden for paying for the medical care on the government.

Without effective enforcement and without strategies to sustain helmet wearing - wearing rates tend to decrease. Two studies - conducted in Canada, Vietnam- showed that laws alone may not be enough to maintain higher helmet wearing rates. In a suburb of Toronto, Canada, a bicycle helmet law was introduced in 1995, and wearing rates for high- middle- and low economic groups immediately increased dramatically. Five years later, however, high wearing rates (80+ % of young bicyclists) were seen only in the high economic group of children. In low- and middle economic groups, rates were between 30-50%. In Vietnam, where helmet legislation has been in place since 2000, but only enforced on certain highways since 2001, wearing rates varied directly with the type of road the motorcyclists were traveling on and whether or not there was police enforcement of the law. On national roads - where there was enforcement of compulsory laws - rates were near 60%, but on city roads - where there are no laws requiring helmet use - less than 10% of all motorcycle riders wear helmets.

We still believe that helmet laws are important to increase rates of helmet wearing, but we caution those advocating these laws to include strategies for sustained enforcement, and for continued promotion for all groups of riders.

We hope that this edition of Headlines finds you in the midst of a happy and safe new year.

As always we welcome your contributions and comments.

Philip L. Graitcer, Facilitator
WHO Helmet Initiative

Vietnam: Prevalence Of Motorcycle Helmet Use Varies By Road Type
In Vietnam, a recent study has shown that the likelihood of a motorcyclist and his or her passenger wearing a helmet depends on where they are, and on what kind of road they are traveling. read more

Canada: Bicycle Helmet Wearing – Six Years After Legislation
Although numerous studies have shown that comprehensive bicycle helmet legislation increases helmet use, no study has observed the impact of legislation on wearing for more than three years. Macpherson and her colleagues at York University, the University of Toronto, and the Hospital for Sick Children have been observing children’s helmet use since 1990. Helmet legislation was passed in 1995, and, as expected, helmet use among children under age 14, shot up. But what is happening six years later, and does a child’s family income level impact on wearing rates? read more

Japan: Do School Regulations For Helmet Use Work?
Can school regulations that require helmet wearing make a difference in reducing head injuries? Yes, according to a soon-to-be published study by Masao Ichikawa and Shinji Nakahara from the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Tokyo. They looked at school insurance claims data from 56 schools in the Saitama prefecture and found that in schools with regulations that require commuting students to wear bicycle helmets, there were actually fewer head injuries. read more

Vietnam: WHO Helmet Manual Launched
The recently published WHO manual, Helmets: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practictioners, has been translated into Vietnamese. read more

Comparing motorcycle-related hospitalizations in U.S. states
Most people know that using a motorcycle helmet reduces the overall motorcycle fatality rate, but what happens to the non-fatal injury rates, and do state helmet laws make a difference in the number and severity of these injuries? Jeffrey Corben and his colleagues at the West Virginia Injury Control Research Center looked at the hospitalization data. read more

News Item from India: Helmet Legislation and Enforcement in Karnataka
In 2004, about 7,000 persons died in road traffic crashes and 51,000 persons sustained serious injuries in Karnataka. In the city of Bangalore, there were about 900 deaths and 10,000 injuries that year. Nearly 40% of these injuries occurred to motorcycle riders and pillions, and more than a third of the injuries were traumatic brain injuries. read more

Helmet Initiative Expansion
The World Health Organization Helmet Initiative is growing! Two programmes, one in Vietnam, the other in Malaysia, are on their way to being part of the Cooperating Helmet Initiative Programme, or CHIP. These programmes will form a network to promote helmet work in different countries and regions of the world. The programmes are research centres, institutes, universities, NGOs, foundations and government departments or agencies that involved in research, education, community outreach, and policy elements as part of a programme to promote helmets. read more

International Conference on Safe Communities in Tehran
The 16th International Conference on Safe Communities will be held on 11-13 June 2007 in Tehran, Iran. This Conference is organized in collaboration with the newly established worldwide organization, International Society for Violence and Injury Prevention (ISVIP). Participation in the conferences earns a one year membership in the ISVIP. This is the first time that this conference is being hosted in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization (EMRO) where rates of injury-related deaths and disability, particularly road traffic injuries, are high and likely to grow.

The deadline for submission of abstracts has been extended to 6 March 2007. The final date has not only been extended for abstract submission but also for scholarship application and conference registration. Attached you will find all necessary information regarding this conference. For more information please visit the conference website at:
www.safety2007.info