Bicycle helmets in New Zealand

Her son, Aaron, had been permanently brain damaged in 1986 at age 12 while riding his 10-speed bicycle to school in Palmerston North.

A car driver hit him, flinging Aaron over the handlebars and headfirst to the ground,[8] where his head struck the concrete gutter.

[9] According to Oaten, a doctor at the time told her that Aaron would "almost certainly not have suffered brain damage" had he been wearing a bicycle helmet.

[11] She also set up a lobby group, the Protect the Brains trust, which spread nationwide and put pressure on the government for a bicycle helmet law.

[8][9] Then transport minister Rob Storey introduced the helmet legislation[12] without debate in Parliament or select committee hearing.

A 1999 study concluded that "the helmet law has been an effective road safety intervention that has led to a 19% (90% CI: 14, 23%) reduction in head injury to cyclists over its first 3 years.

Research from Massey University in 2006 found that compulsory bicycle helmet laws led to a lower uptake of cycling, principally for aesthetic reasons.

The paper "finds the helmet law has failed in aspects of promoting cycling, safety, health, accident compensation, environmental issues and civil liberties.

[21] Australian journalist Chris Gillham [22] compiled an analysis of data from Otago University and the Ministry of Transport, showing a marked decline in cycling participation immediately following the helmet law introduction in 1994.

[24] The state insurance agency, the Accident Compensation Corporation, offers a manual for community injury-prevention projects that mentions the importance of children wearing helmets.

This highlights the fact that helmets are generally no protection to the serious forces involved in a major motor vehicle crash; they are only designed for falls...

There is a suspicion that some people (children in particular) have been “oversold” on the safety benefits of their helmet and have been less cautious in their riding style as a result.”[31][32] In response to the formation of Cycling Health New Zealand[30] in January 2003 a Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) spokesman called helmets a "very important tool" for preventing injuries and dismissed the anti-compulsion group as "the lunatic fringe",[33] a comment denounced by CAN, urging the LTSA to "play the ball and not the person.