BMJ study cites evidence from Canada that shows 'minimal' fall in head injury admissions in regions where helmets are required

Introducing a law to force cyclists to wear helmets may not reduce the number of hospital admissions for cycling-related head injuries, a study has suggested.

Researchers said that while helmets reduce head injuries and should be encouraged, the decrease in hospital admissions in Canada, where the law is in place in some regions, seems to have been "minimal".

The authors examined data concerning all 66,000 cycling-related injuries in Canada between 1994 and 2008 – 30% of which were head injuries.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the authors noted a substantial fall in the rate of hospital admissions among young people, particularly in regions where helmet legislation was in place. But they said that the fall was not found to be statistically significant.

The researchers said admission rates were falling before the implementation of helmet legislation thanks to safety campaigns, improvements to cycling infrastructure and existing use of helmets.

"When baseline trends in cycling-related injury rates were considered, the overall rates of head injuries were not appreciably altered by helmet legislation," they said.

They concluded: "While helmets reduce the risk of head injuries and we encourage their use, in the Canadian context of existing safety campaigns, improvements to the cycling infrastructure, and the passive uptake of helmets, the incremental contribution of provincial helmet legislation to reduce hospital admissions for head injuries seems to have been minimal."

The road safety minister, Stephen Hammond, said: "We encourage cyclists – especially children – to wear helmets to protect them if they have a crash. However, we believe this should remain a matter of individual choice rather than imposing additional regulations which would be difficult to enforce.

"To improve cycle safety we want to see more innovative measures being put in place to help prevent collisions. For example, we have made it easier for local authorities to introduce 20mph zones in built-up areas and authorised a trial of trixi mirrors in London which, if successful, could be used elsewhere in the country to make cyclists more visible to drivers."