Sir.—I was pleased to see AJDC address the topic of bicycle safety in the February 1987 issue. Weiss1 concluded that "encouraging children to wear helmets is probably the single most important intervention that could be made to reduce the likelihood of serious injury to child bicyclists." Furthermore, 75% of all fatalities in bicycle-related accidents are caused by brain injury, and 75% of all permanently disabling injuries are due to brain damage.2
While bicycle professionals and medical researchers recognize that bicycle helmets could significantly reduce the injury statistics, few bicyclists, particularly children, wear bicycle helmets. This raises the question of whether educators concerned with safety (physicians, police officers, teachers) know how effective helmets are in preventing injuries. If they do, are they communicating this information to the public?
In an effort to educate and support those responsible for instructing the public as well as encourage helmet use, the