Cycle Helmet Wearing in 2008

This was the seventh in a series of surveys that began in 1994; TRL was commissioned to conduct this survey, with Accent collecting the survey data.

The surveys enable DfT to assess changes over time in wearing rate patterns and to inform policy on the use of cycle helmets. The survey involved observations at 79 fixed locations on major built-up roads and at 20 locations on minor built-up roads around Great Britain.

The main findings were:

• The cycle helmet wearing rate was 34.3%. This is an increase from 30.7% in 2006 and follows the trend of an increase in cycle helmet wearing each year that the survey has been carried out since 1994, when it was 16.0%.
• The increase was accounted for by the increase in adults (both male and female) wearing helmets at 35.3%, as there was no change to the child helmet wearing rate at 17.6% and the rate for male child cyclists actually declined to 13.1%.
• As in previous surveys, the cycle helmet wearing rates at the London sites were significantly higher at 69.5% than sites outside London at 29.9%. For adult cyclists in London, the strongest effect on wearing rate was time of day, with cyclists more likely to wear a helmet at peak times. Adult cyclists in other cities on weekdays were more likely to wear a helmet at peak times in wet weather.

The 2008 survey on minor built-up roads showed that:

• The overall wearing rate has increased to 16.7% from 13.8% in 2006. The rate has increased each year that the survey has been carried out since 1999.
• When analysing the data by age and gender, the helmet wearing rate for boys aged 11–16 decreased to 7.0% and the rate for boys aged 7–10 is still low at 11.6%.
• The wearing rate for adult cyclists was 18.2%, compared to 12.0% for child cyclists. Female children were most likely to wear a helmet, followed by female adults, male adults, and male children.