) “s "helmet on. “were invented? . adding OPINION THE provincial government has decreed that cvelists will have to wear helmets as of Tuesday Sept. 3. The law is motivated by an effort to lower the incidence of Gend injuries suffered by evelists, Retired Lions Gate Hospital surgeon Lawrence Boothroyd offers this opinion on the matter: Everyone has heard of someone whose life was saved by wearing a bicycle helmet. We've read the statistics, some of which are reliable, about head ‘injuries from cycle acci- dents, especially in children. There is no doubt that cycle helsnets do help protect skulls from clirect impact, and thus save lives. Children learn- ing to ride are particularly vul- nerable. But older cyclists beware. If you don’t break the law you may break your neck. ’ 'A few years ago a cyclist in ~ his sixties was found dying on the road coming down: from the Cypress Bowl. He had a Did he heve a heart attack, or was he the vic- tim, of .a “hit-and-run” motorist, or did he just break his neck hitting the ground? | have not been able to find out. Two. weeks ago. I was pleased to learn that one of my surgical colleagues had sur- < vived a head injury because he was wearing a helmet. He was lucky he did not break his neck. Significantly he — was knocked off his bike by a ‘motorist. So was 1 when a car hic me as it surged forward from a stop sign ona side road. I landed on my shoulder blade -and shattered it, clipped the back of my head on the road and survived without concus- - sion or “seeing stars” because] was not: wearing a helmet. Nine stitches soon fixed that. My bike was a “write-off.” Fortunately I wasn’t. And what about all those . old cyclists who obviously learned:to ride before helmets c Of course there were fewer cars in those * days, and we know that motor vehicles are involved in 12% of Gal the cyclists’ injurics and 90- 92% of bicyclist deaths. * However there is no excuse for ; dangerous riding in heavy traf- A fic. _ So what's the scoop on cycle helmets? Well, to be effective hel- mets must be sturdy, The standard helmet today is an B inch and a half to two inches thick. As the transverse radius of the adult human skull is about three and a half inches that extra width increases the risk from rota- tional forces which damage the brain. it also puts 50% more leverage on the neck. That is of less. consequence to 4 flexible oOungster but older people lose their: elasticity. They become “old” stiff.” The majority of people over the age of 50. have r in their necks and brit- tle bories break more easily. . Cycling is a-relatively new sport in‘ this country. They have: much more experience of ‘invEurope, and yet none of the*EEC countries’ has a hel- i ww, Cycling. in Holland X-ray signs - of | Jast vear amongst the throng of cyclists 1 saw three wearing helmets. 9 “Everyone here owns a bicyele™ said my Dutch friend, “but no one wears a helmet.” Perhaps because they were also cyclists Dutch motorists understand — the problems of cycling and there seems to be mutual respect among all road users. “They also provide six foot wide cycle paths in ail their busy cities. 1 wrote to the Cycle Touring Club of Great Britain asking about the helmet situa- tion there, The following are excerpts from their response. “those who most vocifer- ously advocate the compuls::ry wearing of cycle helmets are rarely cyclists themselves. The British Policy Studies Institute issued a report in 1993 Cycle Helvtets — the Case for and Against. Having exhaustively examined the subject, they RETIRED LGH surgeon Lawrence: Boothroyd ... rescind hiimut law. could find no evidence either practically or statistically chat gle helmet wearing was any- thing more than a secondary means of reducing the: inci- dence of head injury to cyclists. Better provision for cyclists, segregated cycle lanes etc, would achieve a far greater reduction in cyclist injuries than compulsory helmet weat- n ing. Those views are shared by the Australian-based Cyclists Rights Action Group (CRAG). They add that “the rate of” head injuries has not actually decreased since the law” and that “scientific studies in sup- port of the law have been proven flawed.” They contin- uc their summary of the argu- ments, “Studies of the mechanics of head injury show that the most serious contribu- tor to brain injury are rotation- al forces, which helmets do nothing to prevent and may actually increase.” The publicity in favor of cycle helmets has been thor- oughly publicized and does not need airing here. The arguments against have been stifled. Cycling is an exercise that needs to be encouraged, espe- cially among older ‘citizens. : There are far more deaths from heart disease among the seden- tary ‘seniors than trom head injuries in old and enthusiastic cyclists: The tmandatory hel- met law discourages the activi- »ty and should be rescinded at once.. Give us protection from cars by afew cycle paths. ce a oe ee ie es ee ee eA Oe Oa ne ee wh ee a oe B11 Limit of one coupon par customer. 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