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  • Research before lawBicycle helmet research before law enforcement in Western Australia
    
    
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  • Helmet law spinExplains research errors among
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  • Prison penaltiesRead about the first West Australian imprisoned for riding a bike
    
    
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• Cyclist numbersDetails of cyclist numbers in Western Australia before and since helmet law enforcement
  
  
  • Cycling participationCyclist numbers in Western Australia plunged after helmet law enforcement
    
    
  • Australia 1986-2011Compare 1985/86 bike riding participation with 2011
    
    
  • Australia 1986-2013Compare 1985/86 bike riding participation with 2013 collapse
    
    
  • Australia 1986-2015Compare 1985/86 bike riding participation with 2015 ACP survey
    
    
  • Australia 1986-2017Compare 1985/86 bike riding participation with 2017 ACP survey
    
    
  • Australia 1986-2019Compare 1985/86 bike riding participation with 2019 ACP survey
    
    
  • Australia 1986-2021Compare 1985/86 bike riding participation with 2021 ACP survey
    
    
  • Australia 1986-2023Compare 1985/86 bike riding participation with 2023 ACP survey
    
    
  • Child cyclingHow the helmet law discourages healthy cycling by children
    
    
• Cyclist injuriesDetails of cyclist injuries in Western Australia before and since helmet law enforcement
  
  
  • Numbers injuredWA cyclist injuries increased despite fewer cyclists after helmet law enforcement
    
    
  • WA injury summaryA summary of Western Australia cyclist injuries before and since helmet law enforcement
    
    
  • WA injury severityHead injury severity before and after helmet law enforcement
    
    
  • WA cyclist fatalitiesCyclist fatalities in Western Australia before and after legislation
    
    
  • Accidents 1987-1996Bicycle crashes and injuries from
    1987 to 1996
    
    
• Australian state resultsAnalysis of pre and post law participation and injuries in different jurisdictions
  
  
  • New South WalesPresentation of participation and injury results in NSW
    
    
  • VictoriaPresentation of participation and injury results in Victoria
    
    
  • QueenslandPresentation of participation and injury results in Queensland
    
    
  • South AustraliaPresentation of participation and injury results in South Australia
    
    
  • Western AustraliaPresentation of participation and injury results in Western Australia
    
    
  • TasmaniaPresentation of participation and injury results in Tasmania
    
    
  • Northern TerritoryPresentation of participation and injury results in the Northern Territory
    
    
  • 1999 analysisImpact of the helmet law in different Australian States
    
    
• Australian healthRead about Australia's health crisis caused largely by lack of exercise
  • Public health impactFat Australia punishes cycling exercise
    
    
  • Australia's obesity crisisPress clippings concerning the obesity crisis in Australia
    
    
  • Social impactSocial and health impact of bicycle helmet laws in Australia
    
    
• New ZealandImpact of bicycle helmet law in
  New Zealand
  • New Zealand resultsExamine injuries and participation before and after helmet legislation
    
    
  • New Zealand injury ratesCompare cyclists with pedestrian and other road user injury trends
    
    
United StatesImpact of bicycle helmet law in the United States CanadaImpact of bicycle helmet law in
Canada England, IrelandSpotlight on the bike helmet law debate in England and Ireland Web linksA comprehensive link directory for websites concerning bicycle helmets ContactIf you have a query, send a message.

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Australia is one of only two countries in the world which actively enforces national all-age laws that punish citizens for enjoying one of society's most frquent, healthy and safe forms of recreational exercise - bike riding.

This page displays an assortment of press clippings plus a media release concerning Australian public health.

In summary, a growing number of Australians are overweight and the country needs to do some more exercise.

As reported below, children in Western Australia are at risk of having a lower life expectancy than their parents for the first time in history - mostly because of obesity.

About 7.4 million Australians, or half of all adult women and two thirds of adult men, are overweight or obese because they are not sufficiently active, according to the Australian Heart Foundation.

Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study, published by the British Medical Journal in 2017 found that cycling to work was associated with a 41% lower risk of dying overall compared with commuting by car or public transport. Cycle commuters had a 52% lower risk of dying from heart disease and a 40% lower risk of dying from cancer. They also had 46% lower risk of developing heart disease and a 45% lower risk of developing cancer at all.

As reported on May 12, 2009, "The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007-08 National Health Survey, released yesterday, found that 68 per cent of adult men and 55 per cent of adult women were obese or overweight. This is an increase from the 1995 survey when 64 per cent of men and 49 per cent of women were considered overweight or obese."

The journal of the Australian Medical Association estimates as many as 17,000 Australian deaths each year can be attributed to obesity and calculates that overweight and obesity are now more prevalent risk factors for disease than smoking (see Australian Medical Journal, April 2005).

Childhood Obesity: An Economic Perspective published by the Australian Productivity Commission in September 2010 found the weight of Australian children has increased markedly in recent decades, to the point where around 8% are obese and 17% are overweight: "The relationship between physical activity and obesity may be stronger than for many of the other factors. While organised physical activity in children may not be decreasing, it appears that incidental exercise, such as walking to school, has declined." The report fails to mention that the number of Australian children walking or riding a bicycle to school has plunged from about 80% in 1977 to the current level around 5% - most of the reduction when mandatory bicycle helmet laws were enforced.

As reported in November 2011 in the Herald Sun, "Figures released today show 252,000 Victorians are known to be living with diabetes, skyrocketing from 95,000 in 2001.". Diabetes is one of the many illnesses that stem from discouragement of daily recreational exercise.

As stated by the Bicycle Helmet Research Foundation, "Helmet laws are very likely to have been a key contributor to Australians' decline in physical activity that has led to the obesity epidemic."

The Australian Bicycle Council, a subsidiary of the Australian Government's Department of Transport, stated in its March 2004 communique:

Bicycling is part of the solution to many of our cities problems: the obesity epidemic, traffic congestion, air pollution and more. The mainstream health message these days is that people need to do at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days, to maintain health. Increased incidental exercise (ie exercise that is built into 'activities of daily living') is often recommended as the best way to ensure adequate daily levels of exercise are achieved. This is because this kind of exercise is often 'maintained' (ie kept up) more consistently than, for example going to the gym or playing sport. Walking and cycling to work are two good forms of incidental exercise - no surprise there!

Cycling and health: an opportunity for positive change? (PDF 112kb) was published in April 2009 by The Medical Journal of Australia. This editorial by Public Health Professor Adrian Bauman and University of Sydney Associate Professor of Public Health Chris Rissel accurately describes the enormous public health benefits of cycling. However and as with all academic papers seeking publication in Australia, the editorial avoids mentioning the country's most significant public health disaster - helmet laws that punish people for cycling.

Consider the views of New Zealand Public Health Physician Dr Ashley Bloomfield, who presented Cycling: your health, the public's health and the planet's health (PDF file 24kb) to the New Zealand Cycling Symposium in 2000.

All research papers at least partly blame an increasingly sedentary lifestyle for Australia's obesity levels. Greater public recreational exercise is encouraged to stem a looming public health crisis.

Surveys show only about half of all men and women in Western Australia undertake the recommended levels of physical exercise.

The Premier's Physical Activity Taskforce (PDF 548KB) in Western Australia reported that the proportion of West Australian adults above a healthy weight increased from 39% in 1999 to 49% in 2006. In line with cyclist numbers reported on this site, the survey found cycling participation among West Australian adults dropped from 9% in 1999 to 8% in 2002 before returning to 9% in 2006.

Health experts say adults should undertake 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. Cycling is classified as a moderate-intensity activity.

A Danish study has found that people who do not cycle to work suffer a 39% higher mortality rate than those who do. In 2008, a Toronto University study found that maintaining aerobic exercise such as cycling during middle age can delay biological ageing by up to 12 years.

The 2003 UK Cycling and Health report (PDF file, 240kb) details the major personal and public health benefits that are possible when people ride a bicycle instead of driving a car.

Cycling Promotion for Health and Fitness (RTF file, 536kb) studies the health problems suffered by the residents of Perth, Western Australia, because of the city's low cycling levels and high car dependency.

The Relationship between Transport and Health published by VicHealth in 1999 outlines just some of the public health benefits possible if more people walked or cycled instead of driving.

A 1996 West Australian government media release states that more than half of Western Australia's children stopped riding bicycles to school within five years of helmet law enforcement, and surveys show about 30% of all age groups either abandoned or reduced their enjoyment of society's most popular and healthy recreational exercise.

Health in the green economy published by the World Health Organization in 2011 explains both the public health and climate benefits that substantially outweigh injury risk if more people walked or cycled instead of driving.

Australia needs to encourage public recreational activity and exercise instead of punishing people who wish to cycle.

See our home page for data on Western Australia's reduction in cyclist numbers following helmet law enforcement, as well as evidence that the mandatory wearing of helmets has worsened injury rates among cyclists.

Obesity bigger killer than smoking 90,000 WA children overweight 40% of West Australians overweight Children getting fatter: study Message on exercise use left on couch WA expert despairs for child health Children get fat faster, says study 9 million makes us world's fattest Overwieght children show diabetes "Diabesity" a ticking health time-bomb Bicycle helmet laws 'not needed' Two wheels better than four Surge in obesity-linked deaths Aussie kids failed the activity test 'Diabesity' new Australian killer More press clippings

The West Australian newspaper May 8 2001

The West Australian newspaper September 2 2000 Top

The West Australian newspaper April 21 2004 Top

The West Australian newspaper May 31 1996 Top

The West Australian newspaper June 20 2008 Top

The West Australian newspaper October 8 2007 Top The West Australian newspaper August 16 2010 See also Sydney Morning Herald August 16 2010 Top The West Australian newspaper October 12 2015 Top The West Australian newspaper November 16 2016 Top The West Australian newspaper November 22 2016 Top Clipping 1     Clipping 2     Clipping 3     Clipping 4     Clipping 5 Clipping 6     Clipping 7     Clipping 8     Diabetes Media Release     More press clippings

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