Andelen cyklister som använder hjälm har ökat och nådde under förra året ett nytt rekord. Den genomsnittliga hjälmanvändningen är 36 procent för 2013, vilket är tre procent högre än året innan. Inte i någon av de undersökta grupperna barn och vuxna har andelen hjälmanvändare minskat. Sedan 1988 har VTI genomfört årliga observationsstudier av cyklisters hjälmanvändning i 21 orter i Sverige. Även detta år har studien koncentrerats på fyra huvudkategorier av cyklister: - Barn upp till 10 år som cyklar på sin fritid i bostadsområden. - Barn 6–15 år som cyklar till/från grundskolor. - Vuxna (? 16 år) som cyklar till/från arbetsplatser. - Vuxna (? 16 år) respektive barn som cyklar på allmänna cykelstråk.

Since 1988 VTI has performed annual observation studies of cyclists’ helmet wearing habits in 21 towns in Sweden. Below is a summary of the observations conducted in 2013 on behalf of the Swedish Transport Administration. The 2013 study, in line with previous studies, focused on four main categories of cyclists: Children (0–10 years) who cycle in their spare time in residential areas; Children (6–15 years) who cycle to/from their primary or secondary school; Adults (? 16 years) who cycle to/from work; Adults (? 16 years) and children who cycle on cycle routes. The majority of the observations were performed during the first two weeks of September. The 2013 study observed a total of 58,162 cyclists in 21 towns in the four main categories. The results show that children ? 10 years cycling in residential areas on average wear a cycle helmet at 79%. Children cycling to/from primary or secondary school (6–15 years old) wear a bicycle helmet on a lesser scale, at about 61%. However the rate differs greatly, almost 34% in secondary school (children 13–15 years old) and almost 85% in primary school (children 6–12 years old). Among adults who cycle to/from work, the usage rate is about 29%. Most cyclists were observed on cycle routes and the results include all ages as well as adults only. The total number of cyclists on cycle routes displayed slightly higher helmet usage (about 32%) than the subset of adults (30.5%). The weighted average rate of helmet use seen over all categories in 2013, soared to the highest ever. The rate increased continuously until the end of the 1990’s when stagnation occurred for some years. In 2005 legislation requiring children up to 15 years of age to wear a cycle helmet by law, was brought into effect. Helmet use increased again between 2004/2005 and 2008, followed by a stagnation that was broken 2011. The estimated value of the average helmet use is 36.2% for the year 2013, which is significantly higher than the 33.2% in 2012. The difference is statistically significant at risk level 1%. The increase in helmet use in 2013 compared to 2012 has been most pronounced for children ? 10 years cycling in residential areas and adults to/from work.