People in Finland are the most conscientious users of bicycle helmets in Europe, according to the results of a comparative study of 25 EU member states.

Finland's data was collected by the VTT Technical Research Centre, with roadside observations revealing that more than 70 percent of Finnish cyclists used a helmet.

According to a VTT press release, this put Finland ahead of the 16 other countries in which helmet-wearing habits were researched.

By contrast, the corresponding figure in the Netherlands was just five percent.

The study also found that, in all countries, the use of bicycle helmets was less common in urban areas than in rural regions.

Finns' need for speed

Although Finns scored highly on the wearing of bike helmets, the study found other areas of road safety where there is significant room for improvement.

For example, speeding by motorists — especially on rural roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h — was found to be of particular concern. Only 35 percent of Finnish drivers on such roads complied with the limit, according to the results of the study.

"Speeding continues to be a significant road safety challenge in Finland, and more efforts should be made to prevent it," VTT Research Team Leader Fanny Malin noted. "This is why the additional recommendations state that effective measures, such as monitoring, communications and infrastructure solutions, should be developed to prevent speeding."

As part of the project, road safety in Finland was assessed based on six key performance indicators (KPIs): compliance with speed limits, seat-belt use, cycling helmet use, drink-driving, vehicle safety, and the time elapsed between notification of a road traffic accident and the arrival of the first rescue unit at the scene of the accident.

Compliance with speed limits was the only KPI in which Finland scored comparatively poorly.