Abstract
Between 1987 and 1988 there were 47 serious or fatal injuries among bicycle riders in the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo (Serious injury was defined as being hospitalized for at least 24 hours). Collisions with vehicles, mostly cars, were responsible for about 80% of these cases. Two-thirds of the accidents occurred in adults aged 20 and over.
We were able to trace the records of 24 of the 47 who were injured. Head trauma was the most common form of severe injury, occurring in 11 of the 24 cases. Two of the 11 died instantly and one died after 14 days of hospitalization, all from severe brain damage. Eight suffered severe head trauma, 7 of which had brain injury and 2 of the 7 were left with severe residual brain damage. In view of the efficacy of bicycle helmets in preventing head trauma there is a great need to expand their use among bicyclists in Israel.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AgranP.F., CastilloD.W. and WinnD.G. (1990): Limitations of data compiled from police reports on pediatric pedestrian and bicycle motor vehicle events- Accid. Anal. and Prev. 22: 361–370.
ArmsonC.J. and PollardC.W. (1986): Child cyclist injuries: a prospective study - Med. J. Aust. 141: 144–146.
AvitsurM. (1992): Traffic injuries: causes, emergency transfer and consequences. Dept. of Social Medicine, School of Public Health and Community Medicine -Hebrew University, Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem.
BallantyneR. (1975): Richard's bicycle book - Pan, London.
BergmanA.B., RivaraF.P., RichardD.D. and RogersL.W. (1990): The Seattle bicycle helmet campaign -Amer. J. Dis. Child 144: 727–731.
BouvierR. (1984): Bicycle accidents in childood: social and preventive aspects - Aust. Fam. Phys. 13: 287–289.
CallahanD. (1989): Legislating safety - How far should we go? - New Engl. J. Med. 320: 1412–1413.
CapronA.M. (1989): Bicycle safety helmets - New Engl. J. Med. 321: 1194.
Centers for Disease Control (1987): Bicycle-related injuries: data from the national electronic surveillance system - MMWR 36: 269–271.
Central Bureau for Statistics (1988): Traffic accidents with casualities 1987–1988, Jerusalem.
DannenbergA.L. (1989): Bicycle safety helmets - New Engl. J. Med. 321: 1195.
Dept. of Traffic Safety (1990): Report on bicycle accidents in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
DiGiuseppiC., RivaraF.P. and KoepsellT. (1990): Attitudes towards bicycle helmet ownership and use among schoolage children - Am. J. Dis. Child. 144: 83–86.
DiGiuseppiC.G., RivaraF.P., KoepsellT.D. and PolissarL. (1989): Bicycle helmet use by children: evaluation of a community-wide helmet campaign -JAMA 262: 2256–2261.
GuichonD.M.P. and MylesS.T. (1975): Bicycle injuries: one year sample in Calgary - J. Trauma 15: 504–506.
HowlandJ., SargetJ., WeitzmanM., MangioneT., EbertR., MauceriM. and BondM. (1989): Barriers to bicycle helmet use among children. Results of focus groups with fourth, fifth and sixth graders - Amer. J. Dis. Child 143: 741–744.
Leicester P., Nassau F. and Wise A. (1991): The introduction of compulsory bicycle helmet wearing in Victoria - Vic. Roads General Report 91/4, Australia.
LeviL., LynnS., GilbordY. and FeinsoldM. (1990): Head and brain injury as a result of bicycle accidents- Harefuah (in Hebrew) 118: 575–576.
McKennaS., BormanB. and FlemingH. (1984): Pedal cycle accidents - NZ Med. J. 97: 657–658.
National Safety Council (1982): Accident facts -Chicago: National Safety Council 45–91.
ReynoldsR. and CohenD. (1987): Children, bicycles and head injuries - Med. J. Aust. 146: 615.
RichterE.D. (1989): Bicycle safety helmets - New Engl. J. Med. 321: 1195.
SiebstS.M., AlexanderD. and RuddyR. (1987): Bicycle-related injuries - Am. J. Dis. Child. 141: 140–144.
SimpsonA.H., UnwinP.S. and NelsonI.W. (1988): Head injuries, helmets, cycle lanes and cyclists - Br. Med. J. 269: 1161–1162.
StuttsJ.C., WilliamsonJ.W., WhitelyT. and SheldonF.C. (1990): Bicycle accidents and injuries: A pilot study comparison of hospital - and police - reported data. Accid. Anal. and Prev. 22: 67–78.
ThompsonR.S., RivaraE.B., and ThompsonD.C. (1989): A case-control study of the effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets - New Engl. J. Med. 320: 1361–1367.
WeissB.D. (1986): Bicycle helmet use by children: Knowledge and behavior of physicians - Am. J. Publ. Health 76: 1022–1023.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Corresponding author.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Silverberg, D., Meer, A., Silvinger, E. et al. Head injuries after serious bicycle accidents. Eur J Epidemiol 8, 826–831 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00145327
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00145327