We all hope that other states will use New Jersey as an example and start to use logic and safety, vs emotion or pressure from the ski area operators, to make good leadership decisions. Remember when seat belts in cars were optional? Remember when skiis didn’t have safety straps or self activating brakes? Hopefully we will be asking the same thing about Ski Helmets a decade from now.

The New Jersey law will go into effect for the 2011-2012 season and will require a properly fitted helmet for anyone under the age of 18 on any New Jersey ski slopes.

Congrats New Jersey. Be proud. You’ve got our attention. Hopefully the rest of the country will follow suit.

Matt Sampson | Director | SkiHelmets.org

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. New Jersey has a new Ski Helmet law brewing again

Yee introduced SB 105 this week, which would require children to wear helmets when they are on the slopes at California ski resorts. Mirroring existing bicycle helmet laws, it would impose a $25 fine on parents who fail to protect their kids’ heads. It also would require resorts to post signs about the law.

The senator was successful in passing a similar measure last year, which was signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, due to a deal Yee cut with former Assemblyman (now-Insurance Commissioner) Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, Yee’s helmet bill was tied to a Jones bill that mandated ski resorts publish safety plans. Schwarzenegger vetoed the Jones bill, effectively killing Yee’s proposal as well.

This year, Yee said, the bill is a stand-alone measure. Yee’s office noted half of all skiing deaths are caused by a head injury, and that “recent studies show that when helmets are used, the incidence of traumatic brain or head injury has been reduced 29 percent to 56 percent”

“It is imperative that we do not have another ski season in which children are left at such serious risk,” he said. “California’s ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children. … SB 105 will significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable population.”

Last year, some Republican lawmakers opposed the bill, arguing that it smacked of “nanny government” and went too far by inserting government into private lives.

Posted By: Marisa Lagos

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=80914

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. California Ski Helmet Law Passed but Won’t Be Enforced
2. New Ski Helmet Bill Proposed in California by Senator Yee
3. CA Ski Helmet Law Denied by Gov. Schwarzenegger

The bill came to Schwarzenegger attached to another piece of legislation regarding ski resort signage and safety plans with the stipulation that if both bills weren’t passed, neither would take effect. Schwarzenegger refused to sign the second bill, writing: “This bill may place an unnecessary burden on resorts, without assurance of (reduced deaths or injuries.”

According to the Fresno Bee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger applauded a proposed mandatory helmet law for minors Friday but took action that shelved it.

The Legislature, in passing the helmet law, stipulated that it would take effect only if a separate bill targeting ski resort signage and safety plans also was signed by the governor. Schwarzenegger said no.

“Consequently, while I am signing this (helmet) bill to demonstrate my support for this measure, I recognize that it will not take effect,” Schwarzenegger said in a written statement. Senate Bill 880 would have required children under 18 to wear helmets for downhill skiing or snowboarding.

Children currently must wear helmets when riding bicycles, skates, skateboards or non-motorized scooters, but not when sliding down a snowy mountain without brakes.
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The bill by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, called for violators to be fined $25, but it required judges to drop fines for first-time offenders. Law enforcement agencies, rather than ski resorts, would have issued citations.

Yee, through his chief of staff, Adam Keigwin, said the bill will be reintroduced next year as a stand-alone measure. Nationwide, an average of 38 people die annually from skiing or snowboarding, and about 42 people suffer crippling or serious injuries, according to the National Ski Areas Association.

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. California trying again with Ski Helmet Laws
2. CA Ski Helmet Law Denied by Gov. Schwarzenegger
3. Father Continues His Fight for Safety Improvements to Prevent Injuries and Deaths at California Ski Resorts

“That’s great news,” San Agustin, 66, said with hope in his voice after learning the New Jersey Senate passed the bill 34-2 on Aug. 23.

Passage of the helmet law is an affair of the heart for the San Agustins, who started lobbying for it in 1989 after their 12-year-old daughter Nicole died on Feb. 21, 1988, in a skiing accident.

“If Nikki had been wearing a helmet, I’m sure she’d be around now,” San Agustin said. “And if she was taken to the proper trauma center immediately, she would again be here with us today.”

The bill will go to the State Assembly’s Tourism and Gaming Committee in early October and likely before the full Assembly for a vote by the end of October. It could be on the governor’s desk by the first day of winter, said Assemblywoman Grace Spencer, sponsor of the bill in the Assembly.

“It has bipartisan and industry support,” Spencer said, noting the bill in the past was opposed by the ski resort lobby for making the industry responsible for requiring youths to wear helmets and for establishing a protocol for the quick transport of injured skiers to trauma centers. The current bill places the responsibility on parents, guardians and supervising adults for having skiers and snowboarders under 18 wear helmets. It fines violators $25 on a first offense and up to $100 for additional offenses. It does not deal with the transport issue.

“Having gone through our experience, we felt that we needed to do something to avoid any similar tragedies,” San Agustin, a breast surgeon, said. “So what I did is I found out the majority of deaths and serious injuries of skiers were from head trauma. Hence there was an urgent need for skiers to protect themselves with proper helmets.”

State Sen. Anthony Bucco of Boonton repeatedly introduced the bill for about 10 years, only to see it defeated. He also thinks its time for passage has arrived.

“It’s a no-brainer that helmets are necessary,” Bucco says. “It’s for the protection of the kids, whether they’re beginners on a recreational slope or experienced on an advance slope. If you watched the last Winter Olympics, in every sport the competitors wore helmets, even in cross country skiing.”

Nicole San Agustin was on a class field trip with the Peck School of Morristown to the Hidden Valley Ski Resort near Great Gorge in Sussex County when her accident occurred. San Agustin and his wife were not skiers.

“When Nicole went on the school trip as a novice skier, we thought she would be throwing snowballs and playing in the snow in a very safe place. We had no idea how dangerous the sport is until we went down and saw the place where she had the accident.”

Nicole was skiing on a beginner slope with two classmates, when they accidentally wandered onto a more advanced slope made bumpy by snow moguls, her father recounted. The three slipped and fell. As Nicole started to get up from behind a mogul, she was struck in the head by the skis of an airborne skier.

“She immediately fell and was unconscious, indicating the severity of her injury,” San Agustin said. An ambulance took Nicole to a small hospital in Rockland County, N.Y., which didn’t have the surgical staff or diagnostic equipment to deal with her brain injury, San Agustin said. She died three days later.

“One of the things my wife and I believe in is that things happen for a reason,” San Agustin said. “When this bill becomes law, what it will mean to us is that Nikki would not have died in vain. If this law saves one life and prevents a family from experiencing what we have gone through over the years, them again she would not have died in vain.”

The fact that the pending bill does not deal with the transport issue is unfortunate, San Agustin said. But triage has improved since 1988 to help insure that injured skiers are swiftly taken to the right facility, he added. “And it appears we will have required ski helmets to protect children and teenagers,” he said. “That’s important.”

For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2010

Contact: Adam J. Keigwin,
(916) 651-4008, (916) 256-5758

Dr. Phil Helps Pass Yee’s Child Ski Helmet Bill

Committee Approves Legislation to require children wear helmets while skiing

SACRAMENTO – Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) got a big boost from talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw for his bill to safeguard children who enjoy California’s most popular alpine sports: skiing and snowboarding.

Yesterday, the Dr. Phil Show focused on the need for greater helmet use by children while skiing and snowboarding and today Yee’s SB 880 to require all children under age 18 to wear helmets while skiing and snowboarding was approved by the Senate Health Committee. SB 880 is modeled after existing law that requires minors to wear helmets while riding a bicycle.

“I think this is a very timely and important issue to address as kids do dangerous things, and as adults, we have to use our foresight to protect them from themselves,” said McGraw.

Since the show aired, Dr. Phil’s viewers have been writing to Legislators in support of the bill through his website, www.drphil.com.

“California’s ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children,” said Yee, who is a child psychologist. “Despite repeated warnings from public health experts, professional athletes, and ski resorts, each winter brings news of hundreds of unnecessary tragedies for the failure to wear a helmet. With this legislation, we can significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable population.”

In March 1999, Shelby Ganitch was not wearing a helmet when she lost control of her snowboard and her head hit the packed snow. She was knocked unconscious and airlifted to San Bernardino Trauma Center where she laid in a coma for 3 ½ weeks.

“I had to relearn how to do everything,” said Ganitch. “If I had been wearing a helmet, my injuries would not have been nearly as severe.”

“The passage of SB 880 out of Committee is a big step toward reducing head and brain injuries experienced by young skiers and snowboarders,” said Dr. David Lechuga, a neuropsychologist.

Half of all skiing deaths are caused by a head injury. Recent studies show that when helmets are used, the incidence of traumatic brain or head injury has been reduced 29 percent to 56 percent. The Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has found that more than 7,000 head injuries per year on the slopes in the U.S. could be prevented or reduced in severity by the use of a helmet. The CPSC study also showed that “for children under 15 years of age, 53 percent of head injuries (approximately 2,600 of the 4,950 head injuries annually) are addressable by use of a helmet.

“We are very pleased to be working with Dr. Yee on this important public safety measure for children in California,” said Dr. Jo Linder-Crow, Executive Director of the California Psychological Association. “The tremendous research coming from the growing field of neuropsychology made this an issue of utmost importance to our members and the public that we needed to tackle head on. The lives lost and public health costs are too high to ignore any longer.”

“When the data is so conclusive that helmets save lives and reduce severity of injuries, California should set minimum standards for safety,” said Yee. “We correctly do not allow parental choice for car seats and seat belts or basic vaccinations for children attending schools; nor should a helmet for kids on ski slopes be optional.”

Following the lead of California’s bicycle helmet law, SB 880 would impose a fine of not more than $25 on the parents of a child who fails to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding. The bill will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

—

San Francisco Child Care Bill Approved

Today, the Senate Education Committee approved Yee’s legislation to extend a subsidy program that allows San Francisco child care facilities to serve thousands of children from low-income families. Without Yee’s Senate Bill 1225, the program that serves an additional 6,500 children would terminate at the end of this year. San Mateo County has a similar program that extends until 2013.

Due to the high cost of living in San Francisco, the program consists of two main components. Under SB 1225, the ongoing eligibility for subsidized childcare is raised from the 75 percent of the state median income to 85 percent of the state median income. For a family of four, this change increases the maximum income eligibility from $49,620 per year to $60,108 per year.

SB 1225 will also continue the program’s ability to provide for higher contract reimbursement rates – approximately an additional $2 to $5 per a child served per a day. The normal daily reimbursement rate is $34.38, but under the program San Francisco’s rate is $35.63 and for San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) the rate is $39.52. SB 1225 would extend the San Francisco subsidized child care program until 2016.

“For low-income parents trying to maintain employment or attend school, this child care program is the most needed resource in their lives,” said Yee. “Without SB 1225, many San Francisco child care providers will be in serious fiscal danger and run the real risk of going completely out-of-business.”

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. New Ski Helmet Bill Proposed in California by Senator Yee
2. Assembly panel OKs ski helmet use bill in NJ
3. CA: Gaines & Neillo butt heads over ski helmet bill

“I know I should have one. I make the kids wear one, so I should as well,” said Tolzman, in Utah for a week of skiing from Portland, Ore. “I guess it has to do with a speed and risk thing. The kids are younger and they take a little more risks, and I don’t ski that often so I guess I don’t feel like I need one.”

The reluctance of Tolzman — and other snow enthusiasts like her — is in part behind proposed legislation in California, New York and New Jersey that would make it illegal in those states to ski or board without a helmet. Several of the proposed bills target only children; others are more far-reaching. In either event, such a law probably would have a tough time in Utah, where the wearing of a motorcycle helmet, unlike in California, remains optional.

“Helmets definitely make you safe, but shouldn’t people be responsible for themselves?” said 24-year-old snowboarder Kaitlin Elliott of Salt Lake City. “I have the right to be safe or not to be safe depending on the amount of risk I’m taking. I know I should wear one, and I have one, but it is, and should be, my decision.”

A proposal by California state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco who is a child psychologist, probably has the best shot at becoming law. His bill would require skiers and boarders under age 18 to wear a helmet with the responsibility of enforcement placed on parents.

Adam Keigwin, Yee’s chief of staff, said the bill was prompted by concerns from the California Psychological Association.

“They were seeing an uptick in the number of skiing-related accidents, especially among children, and with significant damages,” Keigwin said. “Simply having a helmet would have alleviated a lot of the damages in most cases and been less severe to almost nonexistent in other cases.

“We have heard from some parents who say they have a hard time getting their kid to wear a helmet,” Keigwin added. “If they have the force of the law behind them, their kid doesn’t have a choice but to wear one.”

Officials at Snowbird say the resort has a high rate of helmet use for both skiers and snowboarders, but would not mind seeing everyone on the slopes wearing one.

Statistics from the National Ski Areas Association show that 48 percent of skiers in the United States wear helmets, up from 25 percent in the 2002-03 winter season. The British Medical Journal reported in 2005 that helmets reduced the risk of head injuries by 29 percent.

“Some Utah resorts have mandatory helmets in their ski schools. We want to do everything in our power to make people safe,” said Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah.

Stanley Shulman, Tolzman’s father-in-law, has been wearing a helmet while skiing for more than five years. He thinks everyone should have one on whether or not they are shredding fresh powder in the backcountry or spending time on the bunny hill.

Shulman, 67, was skiing with his grandchildren at Snowbird this past weekend when an out-of-control snowboarder slammed into him.

“It was the worst I’ve ever been hit. I think he got me shoulder-to-head or head-to-head,” he said. “My helmet may have helped prevent injuries to my head.”

ARVADA, CO – We are very excited to announce that California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) has proposed a new ski helmet law for anyone under 18 on the slopes in California. The bill was introduced the past Wednesday.

At skihelmets.org, we understand the magnitude of such a bill and applaud Senator Yee for his efforts. Opinions will be very mixed on this one and we all look forward to see what ends up happening. California could be a leader in this arena (similar to their environmental policies that so many states try to emulate). We wish Senator Yee the absolute best on his work at creating this law and hope that other states will follow suit in the future.

Here is the entire press release from Senator Yee’s Office:

Senator Yee Proposes Bill to Keep Kids Safe on the Slopes

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Legislation would require all children to wear helmets while skiing and snowboarding

SACRAMENTO – Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation today to safeguard children who enjoy California’s most popular alpine sports: skiing and snowboarding. SB 880 would require all children under age 18 to wear helmets while skiing and snowboarding. SB 880 is modeled after existing law that requires minors to wear helmets while riding a bicycle.

“California’s ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children,” said Yee, who is a child psychologist. “Despite repeated warnings from public health experts, professional athletes, and ski resorts, each winter brings news of hundreds of unnecessary tragedies for the failure to wear a helmet. With this legislation, we can significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable population.”

Half of all skiing deaths are caused by a head injury. Recent studies show that when helmets are used, the incidence of traumatic brain or head injury has been reduced 29 percent to 56 percent. The Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has found that more than 7,000 head injuries per year on the slopes in the U.S. could be prevented or reduced in severity by the use of a helmet. The CPSC study also showed that “for children under 15 years of age, 53 percent of head injuries (approximately 2,600 of the 4,950 head injuries annually) are addressable by use of a helmet.

“We are very pleased to be working with Dr. Yee on this important public safety measure for children in California,” said Dr Jo Linder-Crow, Executive Director of the California Psychological Association. “The tremendous research coming from the growing field of neuropsychology made this an issue of utmost importance to our members and the public that we needed to tackle head on. The lives lost and public health costs are too high to ignore any longer.”

In anticipation of a response by some that helmets for child skiers and snowboarders should be left to the parents, Senator Yee said, “When the data is so conclusive that helmets save lives and reduce severity of injuries, California should set minimum standards for safety. We correctly do not allow parental choice for car seats and seat belts or basic vaccinations for children attending schools; nor should a helmet for kids on ski slopes be optional.”

Following the lead of California’s bicycle helmet law, SB 880 would impose a fine of not more than $25 on the parents of a child who fails to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding.

###

Contact: Adam J. Keigwin,
(916) 256-5758

SOURCE: http://dist08.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={EFA496BC-EDC8-4E38-9CC7-68D37AC03DFF}&DE={F497DA22-62C0-47E6-AD75-9130005C2AD6}

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Ski Helmet Law Proposed in California
2. Ski helmets may soon be mandatory in California
3. BREAKING NEWS: Ski Helmet Bill in CA Approved

(Vocus/PRWEB ) January 7, 2010 — Several recent skiing & boarding accidents, new helmet requirements at major resorts and the death of actress Natasha Richardson have made helmet mandates a pressing issue in the U.S. ski industry this season. Safety Awareness Week is a great time to take a look at how various resorts are responding to growing pressure to mandate helmets, and what it means for skiers and snowboarders.

Dr. Robert Williams of Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care has been studying ski helmet use for years, and can talk about recent medical research, industry trends and about a low-key, low-cost way to get people to wear helmets that’s just been endorsed by the National Ski Patrol.*** His efforts have been covered by the New York Times, Associated Press, USA Today, and many other news outlets around the nation.

Dr. Williams is available for interviews at your convenience. Or come to Vermont and catch him on the slopes!

BACKGROUND:
Why are helmets such a hot issue for the ski industry?

1) The death of actress Natasha Richardson last March put an international spotlight on the issue.

2) The owner of the resort where she died has announced a limited helmet mandate. http://www.denverpost.com/tourism/ci_13461835.

3) Vail Resorts instituted a helmet mandate for employees at its 5 resorts – a first in the industry. http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20090415/NEWS/904149973/1063/NONE&parentprofile=1063

4) Ski areas might be held liable for worker injuries based on recent precedent-setting action by the state of Wyoming.

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=4854

***Dr. Williams, an avid skier and snowboarder, has worked with the University of Vermont for the past 6 years to study helmet use, and to develop a non-coercive approach to increasing their use that has proven to be very effective. The program is called PHAT (Protect Head at All Times). See details at www.fletcherallen.org/PHAT.

A federal report estimates 7,700 head injuries could be prevented every year if skiers and snowboarders wore helmets.

About Fletcher Allen
Fletcher Allen Health Care, together with our partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont’s academic medical center. Our mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care, education and research in a caring environment. Fletcher Allen serves as a regional referral center — providing advanced care to approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York — and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties. With more than 30 patient care sites and 100 outreach clinics, programs and services throughout the region, Fletcher Allen is committed to being a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region. For more information about Fletcher Allen, visit our Web site at www.fletcherallen.org.

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/ski_snowboard/helmet_safety/prweb3416384.htm

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1. National Ski Patrol Partners with Ski Helmet Safety Program
2. Adults dodging ski helmets message
3. Ski helmet use on the rise

MONT-TREMBLANT, Canada — It was here, on the crowded, tree-lined slopes of one of North America’s most popular ski resorts, where actress Natasha Richardson suffered a fatal accident last March. The fact that she was not wearing a helmet poured fuel over the fires of a mandatory helmet law debate in Quebec.

The topic pops up here as often as snowstorms in the winter, but received special attention this year even before Richardson’s death. Just a few days prior to the accident, the Association for Emergency Doctors in Quebec, citing increased deaths due to head injuries, called on Quebec’s Education, Leisure and Sports Minister Michelle Courchesne to make a law. At the time, Courchesne publicly spoke of readying it for the next ski season. That has not happened.

“I think the government should have the courage to go forward and make it law,” said Michel Touchette, 49, a resident of Lac des Seize Iles, a village near Tremblant. Touchette has skied since he was a little boy, but he and his wife only started wearing helmets after she suffered a nearly fatal injury four years ago.

Though many individual skiers support the idea of a helmet law, pressure on the government is weak. The official opposition party, Parti Quebecois, is hardly making a big deal out of it. “We won’t take a position until there is a law project,” explained spokeswoman Marie-Eve Imonti. A few weeks ago, three non-profit organizations, Think First Canada, the Brain Injury Association of Canada and the Joint Association for Groups of Cerebral Trauma Victims in Quebec, questioned the government’s apparent amnesia in an open letter asking for a law. “We were astonished to recently read in the media that you have decided to step back from your intention on making wearing helmets mandatory for skiers and snowboarders,” it read.

However, Courchesne denied an about-face by government. “I never said [I would make it law], I said I had not ruled out the possibility,” she said. Consultations with ski industry and health professionals have steered the ministry elsewhere, she added. “We decided that this year, we would introduce a safety promotion campaign,” she said.

Government and industry surveys show 90 percent of children under 12 years of age in Quebec wear helmets, and 65 percent of teens and adults do the same. “We’ll see if after this campaign, that [adult] rate is higher,” Courchesne added.

The Quebec Ski Areas Association (QSAA) is a lobbying group encompassing 70 resorts, including Tremblant. According to Communications Director Alexis Boyer, local resorts are at the forefront of promoting safety compared to counterparts worldwide.

This coming year, the QSAA will budget about $200,000 for its own safety campaign.

“The debate on legislation isn’t closed,” he conceded, but resorts are opposed to a law. “We don’t want to be policing the use of helmets,” he added, which could deter out-of-province or foreign guests.

According to Boyer, no jurisdictions in North America have made helmets mandatory for all. But at the beginning of 2009, Austria passed a law forcing all those under 14 to wear helmets.

“We don’t want to tell tourists from outside Quebec how they should ski,” Boyer said, though he insisted economic concerns do not guide the QSAA’s thinking.

As Tremblant is owned by Intrawest, a company that is not publicly traded, no annual reports are available. However, the slope bills itself as the top destination for winter sports fans in the east of North America. This year, along with all North American resorts owned by Intrawest, helmets are newly mandatory for children and teenagers taking lessons. “We’ve made more efforts this year — mentions on track maps, ads showing helmet-wearing skiers, more training with our employees — that we hope will convince skiers and boarders to wear helmets,” said spokesperson Lyne Lortie.

And on its first weekend of the season, operations sailed smoothly. Two Tremblant shops, one of which is owned by the resort, offer helmet rentals. Rows of helmets on a wall almost immediately greet visitors.

Though the open letter sent by the non-profit groups mentioned that the province had 13,000 ski-related injuries in 2007-2008, Boyer pointed out the majority of those are unrelated to the brain or head, but rather limbs and torso. When pressed, he also said, however, that head injuries are the ones that more often lead to death.

Bernard Mathieu, a Montreal doctor, has spent years tending to wounded skiers or snowboarders at the emergency ward of the Laurentian Hospital of Ste. Agathe des Monts, near Tremblant. “You see a lot of such injuries there,” said Mathieu, who is now vice-president of the Association for Emergency Doctors in Quebec.

He praised Tremblant’s new regulations geared toward children, as well as the industry’s safety campaign. “I think we’re slowly headed toward legislation,” Mathieu added.

Some Ontarians at Tremblant said they wouldn’t mind being made to wear a helmet.

“I’d just cope with it,” said Peter Cooney, 23, from Ottawa.

Others, though, said they would take offense. “I think the government intervenes enough into peoples’ lives as it is,” said Bertrand Leduc, 49, a lifelong skier, as he headed back down from the tracks in a gondola after a Saturday afternoon spent at Tremblant. “You can’t always trust the state to make your decisions for you.”

Leduc fell on his head and lost consciousness for several minutes while skiing some years ago, but he still does not wear a helmet. “I haven’t found my helmet yet,” he said.

SOURCE: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/canada/091224/quebec-ski-helmet-debate

Lower Austria made it compulsory last season and now Upper Austria has followed suit. The provincial parliament passed the new law this week.

It follows the death of a woman last winter who was hit by the German politician, Dieter Althaus. It was a big story in Austria and caused many to buy a helmet and some areas to make it compulsory to wear one.

Read about the accident and the background to the story here.

There was also the death of the actress Natasha Richardson in Canada that received worldwide publicity and we covered it extensively on PlanetSKI.

Not all are in favour of compulsion though.

One Upper Austrian politician, the green Party leader Rudi Anschober, said most children wear a helmet and that compulsion is not a good idea.

Parents in Austria have been made responsible for ensuring that their children wear a helmet, but it is unclear what the punishment for not wearing one may be.

Last winter there were numerous threads and debates in chat forums about whether wearing a helmet should be made compulsory. It would be interesting to see if views are changing.

Here at PlanetSKI we are in favour of wearing a helmet, but against compulsion.

Please fell free to offer your views in the comment box below.
Should we all be made to wear a helmet for our own protection?

Source: http://www.planetski.eu/news/1070

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1. You are 35% safer with a ski helmet says study
2. Skier without Ski Helmet Dies in Austria on Vacation

Steamboat Springs — Intrawest, the parent company of Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp., is increasing awareness of helmet use at its resort this year.

Intrawest will recommend this ski season that all skiers and snowboarders wear helmets at its resorts, and it will require helmets for children and some teens in ski and snowboard school programs, according to a news release that came out today. All students participating in freestyle terrain parks will be required to wear a helmet. The helmet will be included in the ski school packages.

The changes will lead to requirements that some instructors wear helmets during the 2010-11 season. Intrawest will then require employees to wear helmets while on duty at freestyle terrain parks. Instructors will be required to wear helmets if their class is required to do so.

The company also will increase the focus on helmet use in its graphics and advertisements, according to the release.

“Intrawest is working in conjunction with the ski industry to establish important best practices on behalf of our resort guests and employees,” said Bill Jensen, chief executive officer at Intrawest.

Calls are out to Ski Corp. to determine how the resort will handle the policy change.

The change will be implemented at Steamboat Ski Resort, Copper Mountain and Winter Park in Colorado. It also will be made at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, Mountain Creek in New Jersey, Tremblant Resort in Quebec, Panorama Mountain in the United Kingdom, Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia and Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia.

Source: http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/oct/01/intrawest_turns_focus_helmets/

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2. Vail Resorts to require ski helmets for workers, ski-school kids next season

Brand director Anna Olson said JHMR management and a ski industry trade organization representative will meet next week with officials from the Wyoming division of OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to discuss the citation JHMR received for a lack of a helmet policy for employees.

The death of patroller Kathryn Miller in March triggered an OSHA investigation that found the resort negligent for not requiring helmets among employees.

At the time of Miller’s death, no resort in the U.S. had such a policy, according to Dave Byrd, the director of education and safety arm of the National Ski Area Association.

The resort received the OSHA citation in May, and began an internal review of its policy of not requiring employees to wear helmets, according to Olson.

“It is an individual decision,” she said. “The individual has to understand the benefits and limits of helmets. It is not a panacea to all risks.”
Olso
n said that the resort has not changed its helmet policy.

Wyoming OSHA Program Manager J.D. Danni said he could not comment on the ongoing JHMR case, but said investigators seek abatement of workforce safety violations. If OSHA determines that, for example, a lack of a helmet policy is a workplace safety violation, an organization will have to either change its policy, face future citations, or somehow convince OSHA a new policy is unnecessary, Danni explained. Citations, which are categorized as either “serious” or “non-serious,” can carry a fine of up to $7,000.

In the spring, Vail Resorts announced it would require helmets be worn by all employees who have to ski or snowboard on the job. While it may be too soon to say if this is a watershed move by the country’s largest ski corporation, Byrd said other resorts could follow.

“Vail took a leap,” he said. “Given their size and volume and overall financial resources, they were able to do it.”

Byrd said the prospect of outfitting hundreds of employees with helmets that cost, say, $60 will preclude many resorts from mandating helmets overnight.

A recent study by the NSAA found voluntary helmet usage by skiers and snowboarders on the rise across all age groups and skill levels. JHW

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Around 80,000 residents of Switzerland are injured every year either skiing or snowboarding in the Swiss Alps, and the total rises to over 100,000 when foreign tourists are added to the list.
The measures have been widely reported in the press in Switzerland and Britain. But, contrary to some of the sensational headlines, they are chiefly aimed at raising public awareness of the dangers.

The emphasis is on encouraging safer behaviour, with more training for ski patrol units and, in one resort, an experimental speed limit on one of the pistes, aimed at gauging whether such restrictions reduce accidents.

Since January 1, a two-kilometre stretch above the resort of Grindelwald has been subject to a 30km/h speed limit. But this is not expected to cramp the style of skiers, since the resort offers a total of 120 kilometres of runs.

Contrary to press reports, skiers caught speeding on this particular run will not be penalised but only asked politely to move to other slopes.

Fines

“We are not empowered to fine people,” Peter Wenger of Jungfrau Railways, which operates the Grindelwald lifts, told swissinfo. “We believe the best measures are those which appeal to people to take responsibility for their own actions. No one wants to have too many rules regulating what is supposed to be a fun, leisure activity.”

Fines for wayward skiers have long been commonplace in the Swiss Alps. Gamekeepers employed by the cantons have had for many years the right to fine skiers for ignoring no-go signs put up on the perimeters of nature or wildlife reserves.

Efforts are also underway to unify the training of ski patrol units and to make visitors more aware of the rules, following a recommendation issued at the beginning of the season by the Swiss Cable Car Association.

Spokesman Felix Maurhofer told swissinfo that the association was launching a training programme next season for ski patrol units to ensure they took a unified approach.

Rules of conduct

He added that the association intended to post signs in each resort listing the International Ski Federation’s rules of conduct skiers are expected to follow, but that many are unaware of.

But Maurhofer admits that it will take time to get the message across, saying it would be “two to three years before all [signs] are in place”.

The Swiss Accident Insurance Fund, Suva, is giving a dozen two-hour safety awareness courses (see video) at a handful of resorts this winter, in an attempt to reduce the number of injuries.

Safety

But the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention cautioned that there are many factors with a bearing on accident figures, and not just safety campaigns or measures.

The council’s Magali Dubois told swissinfo more accidents occur when snow and weather conditions are good since there are more skiers on the slopes, and during winters with a generous number of public holidays.

She said a positive development was that more people were taking responsibility for their own safety.

The number wearing helmets more than doubled between 2003 and 2005 to 28 per cent, and sales have been brisk again this season.

The Swiss Alpine resort of Grindelwald has set a precedent on the ski slopes of Europe by introducing a 30km/h (19mph) speed limit on one of its pistes. The ‘Speed 30 Slope’ – the two-kilometre intermediate blue run in the Oberjoch ski area – is designed to protect young, elderly or inexperienced skiers and snowboarders from the fast and furious bearing down on them from above. The restriction is the first of its kind in Europe and, according to the resort, it has been well received by the public.

‘Ninety-five per cent of people are respecting the regulation,’ said resort spokesman Beni Kaufbahn, who claims offenders will be reprimanded but not punished. ‘We don’t take ski passes away, we don’t have police.’

The authorities have robustly defended themselves against claims that they are killjoys by pointing out that 45,000 people are hurt a year on Switzerland’s pistes, mainly due to collisions. Kaufbahn denied reports that similar speed limits would be introduced across the Alps: ‘A full 30km/h speed limit makes no sense, that is not what we are trying to enforce. But where the slopes are wide enough it is a great option to offer,’ he said.

While he claimed that the idea was inspired by the 30km/h driving speed limit in European towns, Kaufbahn said the resort was not yet ready to introduce speed cameras. ‘I hope not!’ he said.

In February 2005 the French resort of Courchevel installed a speed camera on the ‘Grandes Bosses’ blue run in an attempt to raise safety awareness. Speed clampdowns are already common in the United States and Canada where ski police, sometimes wearing flashing blue helmets, have the power to chase, suspend, fine and even press charges against reckless skiers.

In the Swiss resort of Zermatt, police are ordering skiers and boarders to slow down after a skier was killed in a collision last season. Lift attendants and ski patrollers have been given authority to confiscate passes if skiers ignore the piste etiquette laid down by the International Ski Federation’s 10-step common-sense guide.

British former Olympic skier Konrad Bartelski said the federation’s guide is not being followed: ‘The problem with skiing nowadays is that people throw common sense out of the window. Because ski equipment is getting so much better and the pistes are so smooth, people are skiing faster than they realise,’ he said.

But he said speed limits were not the answer: ‘If these speed restrictions were all over the mountain, we’d all get frostbite. Speed is irrelevant, control is the key issue.’

Thomas is supervisor of the Yellow Jackets, a team at Heavenly Ski Resort that educates people to slow down in heavy traffic zones and family areas.

On Nov. 28, when the 2003-04 ski season was still in its infancy, a helmeted Bridgette Clement, 13, died after hitting a tree at Alpine Ski Resort. It sent a jolt to ski resorts and snow sliders who heard the news. South Shore ski resorts have implemented ways to make guest safety a No. 1 concern with groups like the Yellow Jackets.

Thomas and his crew of nine are set up at heavy traffic zones to put the brakes on those speeding. First-time offenders will receive a short education on the matter. The second time they’re caught could mean an escort off the mountain.

The Yellow Jackets are in their second year at Heavenly.

“I want my crew to be out interacting with the public,” Thomas said, adding that the Yellow Jackets are different than ski patrol, who give aid to injured skiers and help search for those lost on or off the slopes.

Sierra-at-Tahoe has a similar program, but the traffic enforcers wear light red jackets. The crew has the authority to kick somebody off the mountain for repeated offenses.

Heavenly and Sierra participate in Safety Awareness Week, a national program designated to raise caution on the mountain. Sierra has Captain Safety, who wears a red cape and quizzes people on the ski safety code. Prizes are awarded for correct answers.

At Sierra’s terrain park, a code of knowing the landing is clear is to start small then go bigger and, above all, respect others.

Helmets are available to rent at Sierra. Heavenly recommends the devices for 15 years of age and under. Parents or guardians who decline the use of helmets for their children at Heavenly’s ski and snowboard school have to sign a waiver. Helmets do not offer full protection. The Bay Area girl who died was wearing a helmet when she hit the tree.

“A helmet will protect you to an extent,” said Nicole Belt, Sierra- and Northstar-at-Tahoe’s communications director. “It’s not a safety blanket.”

On Wednesday, brothers Randy and Russ Wigart were wearing helmets while snowboarding.

“I think anytime you’re going at high speeds you should wear a helmet in any sport,” Russ Wigart said, adding he has been knocked unconscious riding with a helmet.

- E-mail William Ferchland at wferchland@tahoedailytribune.com.