Preliminary communication

SCHOOLCHILDREN AND BICYCLE HELMET USE IN CROATIA

Eduard MISSONI
Josipa KERN

Abstract

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.

Keywords

schoolchildren; bicycle; helmet; attitudes; knowledge; bicycle related injuries

Hrčak ID:

19085

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/19085

Publication date:

30.6.2007.

Article data in other languages: croatian german

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