Schoolchildren and Bicycle Helmet Use in Croatia

The purpose of this research was to study the behaviour and attitudes of young cyclists in different urban environments towards wearing a helmet, and possible differences regarding the length of the cycle lanes in the surveyed cities. A survey was carried out among 546 schoolchildren, aged from 10 to 15 years, at primary schools in three Croatian cities: Zagreb, Vara`din and Samobor. A comparison of the cities regarding the ownership of bicycles has shown that there are no statistically significant differences between the cities, whereas the difference in helmet ownership is statistically significant. Attitudes towards wearing a helmet are generally more positive in Zagreb and Vara`din, while the situation in Samobor, a town with no bike lanes, is just the opposite – schoolchildren there have negative attitudes towards wearing helmets. Negative attitudes and insufficient knowledge about wearing a protective cycle helmet indicates the necessity of developing positive attitudes towards wearing a safety helmet among schoolchildren and educating them about the means of injury prevention when riding a bicycle.