Attitudes and beliefs of students towards wearing bicycle helmets : A study carried out at Linköping University, Sweden

Abstract: The most common diagnoses after bicycle accidents are head injuries and fractures on arms and legs. At two of three injured cyclists, head injuries are the primary cause of death and bicycle helmets are a good protection against these injuries. Because the brain is very fragile, even a moderate hit can cause a serious injury. Arms and legs can often be treated, while brain damage could be a permanent disability. The main goal of this paper is to find out what makes students at Linköping University wear a bicycle helmet. The specific aim of this paper is to find out why students at Linköping University do not wear a bicycle helmet when they are cycling. The paper is divided into a literature review and a case study. The literature review delivers an insight into the road traffic safety system and the contributing factors that influence road traffic safety. It covers research analysis of experts about human behavior and gives an overview of relevant facts and figures concerning cycling within Sweden as well as within the European Union. The case study is a survey carried out at Linköping University. The method used is paper questionnaire with the target group of students at Linköping University. The result of the questionnaire is that more information regarding bicycle helmets and cycling as such, bicycle helmets for free or at least for reduced prices and to somehow change the attitudes towards bicycle helmets is important to increase the number of students wearing a bicycle helmet at Linköping University. As the most important reasons for not wearing a bicycle helmet, practical problems due to having no opportunity to fix the bicycle helmet secure to the bicycle, the fear of negative appearance and the discomfort of wearing a bicycle helmet have been mentioned. To increase the usage of bicycle helmets measures like increasing the awareness, reducing the helmet price or providing extra features with the helmet, based on the results of the literature review and the questionnaire, are suggested at the end of this paper.