Almost Half of Children Injured in Bicycle Accidents in the Czech Republic Were Not Wearing a Helmet

In summer, particularly large numbers of children travel by bicycle, kick scooter and e-scooter. However, a new analysis shows that a large proportion of children injured in road accidents were not wearing a helmet.

A recent evaluation by the BESIP department of the Czech Ministry of Transport and the Transport Research Centre highlights considerable safety risks for young road users. According to the findings, almost half of cyclists aged up to 14 who were injured in accidents were not wearing a protective helmet. For kick scooters and e-scooters, the proportion was more than 60 per cent.

The analysis examined all road accidents registered by the police between January 2023 and June 2026. During this period, a total of 1,748 accidents involved cyclists aged up to 14.

Two children were killed, 65 were seriously injured and a further 1,286 sustained minor injuries. Of the 1,353 young cyclists injured in total, 613 were not wearing a helmet. This corresponds to a share of 45.3 per cent.

“A protective helmet is a simple but highly effective measure that can save a child’s life in the event of a fall or collision. Wearing a helmet is required by law for all cyclists under the age of 18. However, parents play the most important role,” Transport Minister Ivan Bednárik said. Parents could teach their children to wear a helmet on every journey – including when riding a kick scooter or e-scooter.

High Proportion Without Helmets on E-Scooters

The proportion of children not wearing helmets was particularly high among those riding kick scooters, e-scooters and electric bicycles. Of the 970 children injured on conventional bicycles, 360 were not wearing a helmet, corresponding to 37.1 per cent. Among those riding electric bicycles, 15 of the 24 injured children were not wearing a helmet (62.5 per cent), compared with 97 of 143 on conventional kick scooters (67.8 per cent) and 139 of 213 on e-scooters (65.3 per cent).

Actual Number of Injured Children Likely to Be Higher

The analysis only takes into account accidents registered by the Czech police. The actual number of injured children could therefore be higher, as less serious accidents in particular are not always reported.

“The statistics confirm that wearing a protective helmet is still not a matter of course, even though it can have a decisive impact on the severity of the consequences consequences of an accident,” said Tomáš Neřold, head of the BESIP department.

BESIP therefore has a long-term focus on road safety education in primary schools and supports targeted awareness campaigns run by other organisations. These include the “Na kole jen s přilbou” (“Only Cycle With a Helmet”) project run by the Road Safety Team, as well as the “Bezpečně na elektrokoloběžce” (“Safe on an E-Scooter”) project.