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Ski helmets can reduce the chance of head injury by 60 per cent, but it should be more.
After a high profile death resulting from a skiing related head injury stole the headlines last spring, ski helmets and their use are being drawn closer towards the center of attention.
Ski helmets were already becoming more and more common at ski resorts across North America when actress Natasha Richardson died following a fall at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant ski resort last April. With the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on the horizon, Canadian safety organizations are calling for greater use of ski helmets, as well as higher standards for manufacturers.
Safe Kids Canada is asking Canadians to show their support for the use of helmets during winter ski sports by signing the Vancouver Charter on Skiing Safety. The charter is designed to encourage the use of helmets during skiing and snowboarding activities, and it has already been endorsed by British Columbia, the host province of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
“Given the increase in serious head injuries resulting from skiing and snowboarding activities, we felt it was time to ask Canadians to come together and show their support for protecting children from these preventable injuries,” said Pamela Fuselli, executive director at Safe Kids Canada. “We want children to take part in sporting and recreational activities and to be active and healthy, while at the same time being safe by wearing a helmet.”
While head injuries have been shown to comprise three to 15 per cent of all injuries suffered by skiers and snowboarders, Safe Kids Canada says over 85 per cent of skiing and snowboarding deaths are caused by head injury. More specifically, traumatic brain injury has been reported to account for 67 per cent of skier deaths in children. They say research has shown that ski and snowboard helmets are effective at preventing head injuries. It is estimated that for every 10 people who wear a helmet, up to six may avoid head injuries.
But the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) says that there are no ski helmet manufacturers that produce helmets that meet the standards they revised last March. Canada has no laws forcing manufacturers to meet any specific standards. Nevertheless, the CSA still recommends their use, and says they can reduce the risk of head injury by 60 per cent.
But the lack of CSA-approved helmets has become a reason for ski hills to avoid making them mandatory. Last season the provincial government of Prince Edward Island, which runs a hill at the provincial park in Brookvale, said it would consider making helmets mandatory, the CBC reports. But a meeting of the Atlantic Canada Ski Council decided to continue to make helmet-wearing voluntary because of the lack of CSA-approved helmets.
“At this point no hills are moving forward with the mandatory helmet policy,” provincial parks manager Shane Arbing told CBC News last week. “This is the decision that’s been made, and we’ll be consistent with other ski hills.”
Some ski resort companies are making changes, although largely symbolic. Vancouver-based Intrawest will recommend all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets at its North American resorts starting this season, which include Mont Tremblant and British Columbia’s Whistler-Blackcomb, which will host alpine events during the Olympics. The headgear will be mandatory for children and teens enrolled in ski and snowboard programs and for any student, regardless of age, taking part in freestyle terrain park programs.
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