Cycle helmets should not be compulsory

doi:10.1136/bmj.318.7197.1505a

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Douglas Carnall

Cyclists are advised to wear helmets but legislation to make them compulsory is likely to reduce the number of people choosing to cycle and would not be in the interests of health, concludes the BMA's Board of Education and Science.

International evidence shows that the compulsory use of helmets results in a fall in the number of cyclists. The Australian state of Victoria made the use of helmets compulsory in 1990, and in the following year deaths and head injuries among cyclists fell between …