ArticleInjury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention2002
New Zealand bicycle helmet law--do the costs outweigh the benefits?
Article in Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of unintentional injury prevention economic evaluations 2010-2019 and comparison to 1998-2009.Accident; analysis and prevention · 2020Pooled it
- Bicycle helmet legislation for the uptake of helmet use and prevention of head injuries.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2008Pooled it
- Effectiveness of bicycle helmet legislation to increase helmet use: a systematic review.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2006Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of mandatory bicycle helmet use to prevent traumatic brain injuries and death.BMC public health · 2020Article
- No clear evidence from countries that have enforced the wearing of helmets.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2006Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis paper examines the cost effectiveness of the compulsory bicycle helmet wearing law (HWL) introduced in New Zealand on 1 January 1994. The societal perspective of costs is used for the purchase of helmets and the value of injuries averted. This is augmented with healthcare costs averted from reduced head injuries.
methodsThree age groups were examined: cyclists aged 5-12 years, 13-18 years, and >/=19 years. The number of head and non-head injuries averted were obtained from epidemiological studies. Estimates of the numbers of cyclists and the costs of helmets are used to derive the total spending on new bicycle helmets. Healthcare costs were obtained from national hospitalisation database, and the value of injuries averted was obtained directly from a willingness-to-pay survey undertaken by the Land Transport Safety Authority. Cost effectiveness ratios, benefit:cost ratios, and the value of net benefits were estimated.
resultsThe net benefit (benefit:cost ratios) of the HWL for the 5-12, 13-18, and >/=19 year age groups was $0.3m (2.6), -$0.2m (0.8), and -$1.5m (0.7) (in NZ $, 2000 prices; NZ $1.00 = US $0.47 = UK pound 0.31 approx). These results were most sensitive to the cost and life of helmets, helmet wearing rates before the HWL, and the effectiveness of helmets in preventing head injuries.
conclusionsThe HWL was cost saving in the youngest age group but large costs from the law were imposed on adult (>/=19 years) cyclists.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.