Compulsory training in cycle safety for schoolchildren, coupled with subsidised cycling helmets, could cut the toll of death and injury on British roads, says the British Medical Association.

These recommendations form part of a 12-point plan launched by the BMA, who also call for:

• a comprehensive goverment cycle helmet promotion campaign
• more studies on the effectiveness of helmets
• a free helmet supplied with every new bike
• bulk purchasing of helmets by schools or youth clubs
• government money for more cycle paths and traffic calming
• driver awareness of cyclists to be made part of the driving test

Not compulsory

However, the BMA stops short of calling for a new law to make wearing cycle helmets compulsory, as there is for motorcycle helmets in the UK.

It claims that cycle proficiency should be made an essential part of the school curriculum, rather than an optional extra.

Lessons would include basic cycle maintenance, safety precautions and information on the health benefits of cycling, as well as encouraging cycle use.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, BMA Head of Health Policy and Research said: "I would like to see every cyclist and particularly every child cyclist wearing a good quality helmet but I also want to see them cycling in a much safer environment with dedicated cycle paths and lower traffic speeds.

"It is also vitally important that cyclists are taught to ride safely and that drivers are aware of how vulnerable bicycle users are."

Cyclists without helmets are vulnerable to brain damage

Some cyclists, however, say that the wearing of cycle helmets should not be encouraged too strongly, as they believe that a helmeted cyclist may take more risks than a bare-headed rider, thinking that they are protected.

Angela Lee, an executive director of the British Helmet Initiative Trust, which provides helmets at cost price to cyclists, agrees that laws forcing cyclists to wear helmets are impractical.

She said: "The level of helmet wearing in Britain is very low - a lot of people would be breaking the law and it would be virtually unenforceable."

But she says that any doubts about their protective value are out of date.

"There have been several studies which prove their use."

She said that some shops were still charging VAT on children's cycle helmets, despite them being exempt from tax.

"The main problem is still the price of helmets - we can see markups of up to 200 per cent."