Pedal and Motor Cycle Helmet Use, Split by Gender : Evidence from Europe, Central America and the Caribbean

According to the WHO's Global Status Report on Road Safety of 2013, road fatalities were 1.24 million for the 182 countries studied; the injury statistics were as always less precise: depending on definition and recording measures, there were 20-50 million injuries – either extreme of the spectrum would constitute the size of a medium-large nation state. In economic terms the cost of road injuries in 2000 was recorded in the WHO Report as in excess of $1/2 trillion – again equivalent to the GDP of medium-large national economies. Correct helmet use was estimated in the study to reduce the risk of death by 40%, and that of serious injury by 70%. These somewhat sobering statistics provide the backdrop for the empirical study of helmet use by riders of bicycles and motorcycles analyzed by gender, age, number of riders and personal/cargo use, which are presented below. Locations in the following countries were chosen in Central America and the Caribbean, for empirical observation of helmet use: Latin America (Cuba, Costa Rica and Nicaragua) and locations in the following countries in Europe (U.K., Italy and the Netherlands.) The data collected are summarized, analyzed and reviewed; and comparisons between countries and regions made. Policy implications are discussed. Tentative policy recommendations are suggested, subject to more extensive empirical research, for a more pro-active approach to road safety for pedal and motor cycle users – not just operators but also passengers, who constitute some of the most vulnerable road users