Irish cycling groups have disputed the presentation of a study suggesting cyclists top the list of sporting head injuries in the Republic.
Dublin Cycling Campaign has criticised the way the findings have been teased out and presented. Galway Cycling Campaign has rejected suggestions, in the wake of the study, that helmets should be mandatory for cyclists in the Republic.
The new study, which surfaced last year and whose final findings
have now been reported on again by the media, was conducted over 30 months. It
was based on data from referrals to the national neurological centre in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin.
The north Dublin hospital is the specialist national
centre for treating head injuries and trends in referrals to it are regarded as
capturing national trends in serious head injuries.
Over the 30 months under review, some 463 people with traumatic brain injuries were referred to the unit; 86 incidents cycling-related, 30 arising from Gaelic football, 23 from horse riding and 13 from rugby. There were also smaller numbers of referrals from soccer, hurling, golf and MMA.
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It has been reported that of 26 of the cyclists, only two
were wearing a helmet, 18 had no helmet and there was no information for the
other six. It is not clear why helmets were only accounted for in 26 of the 86
cycling cases.
The four patients who died in the unit were all cyclists,
two of whom were injured during crashes that involved drivers in vehicles.
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Dublin Cycling Campaign has questioned the way the data
was compiled, saying the cycling injuries were all classified as “sports”
injuries, meaning cycling was presented as the most hazardous sport.
However, it suggested many of these cycling cases likely arose during transport or commuting journeys even though other forms of commuting head injuries, including those sustained while driving, were not mentioned in the study.
Dublin Cycling Campaign added the reports focused on 35
per cent of the incidents referred to the unit as they were “sporting”
incidents. Yet the other 65 per cent – many of which the campaign suspected
arose from driving crashes – were not accounted for.
“If you change the focus and look
at ‘transport’ (injuries) instead of ‘sport’, how do cycling referrals compare
to motor vehicle drivers or passengers, or pedestrians?” the campaign said.
Meanwhile, Galway Cycling Campaign has responded to suggestions the findings of the study point - in pointing to an apparent low rate of helmet-wearing among cyclists who suffer head injuries - to the need for mandatory cycling helmet laws in the Republic.
Galway Cycling Campaign's deputy chair Martina Callanan said: "We strongly oppose mandatory laws for helmets for every day cycling. For a person cycling, a camera is better for personal safety cause this can record road traffic offences and provide digital evidence to (gardaí).
"The solution to keeping people safe and feeling
safe is two things: separate infrastructure for cycling - and this is being
provided through the Programme for Government. And also we need to change
our speed limits - we need to reduce the speed on our roads to 30 kilometers
per hour in urban areas."
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