All helmets have an inner rigid layer of foam designed to absorb the force of a blow to the head. Soft shell helmets are lighter and more comfortable with a decorative fabric or thin plastic outer covering over the rigid foam. Hard shell helmets have an additional rigid outer cover to protect against penetrating injury making them sturdier but heavy. This may also make them more durable and protective.

Helmets for winter sports have more insulation and better coverage than a bicycle helmet. The choice of a helmet type is up to the individual but proper fit is crucial. Ask a ski shop professional to assist with proper fit. Discard or have helmets professionally checked for damage after an accident.

Check out this website for more information on helmets www.lidsonkids.org

This article caught out attention in the Winter 2009 Issue of Wilderness Medicine Magazine.

Burlington, Vermont (Ski Press)-“Ski like a local…Wear a helmet.” is the slogan for this year’s effort by the Vermont Snow Sports Research Team to get every skier and snowboarder to wear a helmet while on the slopes. The Vermont Snow Sports Research Team is a partnership of Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care and the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

The team is in the midst of a multi-year study, funded by the Vermont Department of Health and the Children’s Miracle Network, which is examining trends in helmet use among skiers and snowboarders.

“Ski safety experts feel that a helmet is a safe and effective tool for reducing the chance of a head injury while skiing and snowboarding,” says Robert Williams, M.D., study coordinator, pediatric anesthesiologist, and critical care specialist at Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care. “We feel that it is our duty to get that message out to as many people as we can.”

A 1999 report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that 7,700 head injuries could be prevented every year if skiers and snowboarders wore helmets on the slopes. More recently, research has shown that head injuries are the type of skiing and snowboarding trauma that is most likely to cause serious injury and disability.

During the first year of a study begun in 2002, approximately two-thirds of young children under age eighteen were observed by the team to be wearing helmets while skiing or riding. The number dropped significantly, however, among adolescents. Only one-third of people over age eighteen wore helmets.

Since the 2002-2003 winter season, this study reveals a significant increase in helmet use among adult skiers, with almost a doubling of helmet use rates in three years. There have also been increases among child skiers and snowboarders, but these have been less dramatic, and the Snow Sports Research Team is concerned that the rate of children’s helmet use may be beginning to plateau at around 70%.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” says Dr. Williams. “Helmet use rates remain lower than we’d like to see, particularly for adolescents and adults. The medical community bears some responsibility for the low use of helmets due to past confusion over their effectiveness. However, ongoing research in the field has demonstrated that wearing a helmet can indeed help prevent head injury. In addition, new research has shown that wearing a helmet does not increase the chance of sustaining a neck injury or lead to reckless behavior on the slopes. While helmets can’t prevent all head injuries, they are an important piece of personal protection while skiing and snowboarding.”

The Snow Sports Research Team gathered data over the past three ski seasons from nearly 40,000 observations of helmet use by skiers and snowboarders, the largest-ever study of its kind. This data reveals helmet-wearing patterns based on age, gender, and whether the individual is a skier or snowboarder. In addition, the team conducted over 1,000 surveys at Smuggler’s Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, Vermont, to better understand why some skiers and snowboarders choose to wear helmets and others don’t.

The Vermont research team has found some encouraging trends during its research. The team observed that local skiers and riders wear helmets at a much higher rate than resort guests.

“This is very encouraging,” states Dr. Williams. “The more experienced riders are finding the advantages of warmth and safety in wearing a ski helmet. In sports like skiing and snowboarding, image and style are important drivers of behavior. If the hot riders and locals are wearing a helmet, we believe that tourists and less-frequent skiers will be more likely to follow suit. That’s how we can up with the slogan, ‘Ski Like a Local…Wear a Helmet.’”

To help spread its message, the Vermont team has teamed with Smugglers Notch Resort to produce and distribute thousands of informational pamphlets, posters, and stickers promoting the importance of wearing a helmet. The research team adopted “Always ride PHAT” as the byline for its multi-year campaign.

PHAT is an acronym for “Protect your Head on All Terrain” and “Protect your Head at All Times.” It is derived from the slang term “phat,” which denotes excellence.

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Skiing Safety – Wear a Helmet!
2. National Ski Patrol Partners with Ski Helmet Safety Program

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff is recommending skiers and snowboarders wear helmets to help prevent head injuries from falls and collisions. In a study released today (pdf format), the CPSC staff concluded that helmet use by skiers and snowboarders could prevent or reduce the severity of 44 percent of head injuries to adults, and 53 percent of head injuries to children under the age of 15. The proportion
of skiing and snowboarding head injuries is higher in children than in any other age group.

In 1997, there were 17,500 head injuries associated with skiing and snowboarding. The CPSC study estimates that 7,700 head injuries — including 2,600 head injuries to children — could be prevented or reduced in severity each year by using skiing or snowboarding helmets. The study also shows that helmet use could prevent about 11 skiing- and snowboarding- related deaths annually.

“We know that helmet use can prevent serious head injuries in a wide variety of sports and activities, including bicycling and in-line skating,” said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. “This study of skiing and snowboarding shows that helmets can prevent or reduce the severity of head injuries on the slopes, just as they do on the streets.”

The study of head injuries associated with skiing and snowboarding was conducted as part of CPSC’s ongoing work to reduce head injuries in a variety of
sports and activities.

In addition to the CPSC staff study, research in other countries has shown that helmets can help prevent head injuries to skiers. In Sweden, a national study found that head injuries among skiers wearing helmets were 50 percent lower than for skiers not wearing helmets.

According to the National Sporting Goods Association, nearly 10 million people participate in alpine skiing more than once each year. Between 1993 and 1997, the number of people who snowboard increased from 1.8 million to 2.5 million.

The CPSC study found that while overall hospital emergency room-treated injuries associated with skiing declined substantially between 1993 and 1997, the
number of head injuries remained relatively constant. During the same period, snowboarding injuries nearly tripled and the number of head injuries from snowboarding increased five-fold.

From 1993 to 1997, the estimated number of hospital emergency room-treated injuries of all types associated with skiing declined from 114,400 to 84,200.
The injuries have dropped, in part, because of improvements in ski equipment, such as redesigned bindings, which have reduced injuries to the legs. Head injuries were essentially unchanged at 13,600 in 1993 and 12,700 in 1997. For snowboarding, hospital emergency room treated injuries increased from 12,600 in 1993 to 37,600 in 1997. The number of head injuries associated with snowboarding increased from 1,000 in 1993 to 5,200 in 1997.

In addition to wearing helmets specifically designed for skiing or snowboarding, the CPSC recommends these additional safety tips:

Select the right equipment, and make sure items such as bindings and boots are adjusted to fit properly.
Make sure you have the proper training, and don’t ski or snowboard beyond your ability. Ski and snowboard in control, and follow the rules of the slopes. Never ski or snowboard alone. Make sure someone is there to help you if you get hurt. Get in shape before you hit the slopes. Making sure you are physically fit before you ski or snowboard can help prevent injuries. Wear warm, close-fitting clothing. Loose clothing can become entangled in lifts, tow ropes and ski poles.

For more information on skiing and snowboarding safety, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or go to our web site at www.cpsc.gov.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC’s fax-on-demand service, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s web site at http://www.cpsc.gov. Consumers can report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.

Skiing and snowboarding are no more dangerous than other high-energy participation sports, and less so than some common activities. However, it is challenging and it requires physical skills that are only learned over time with practice. It involves some risk, but in some measure, it is that risk that entices most skiers and riders to pursue the sport. Because snowboarding is a relatively new sport, around only the past 10-15 years, more data is available about skiing injuries.

Statistics on skiing/snowboarding

Fatalities – According to the National Ski Areas Association: During the past 15 years, about 34 people have died skiing/snowboarding per year on average. During the 1998-99 season, 39 fatalities occurred out of the 51.9 million skier/snowboarder days reported for the season. Thirty-three of the fatalities were skiers (27 male and six female) and six of the fatalities were snowboarders (all males). The rate of fatality was .75 per million skier/snowboarder visits.

Note: A skier/snowboarder visit represents one person visiting a ski area for all or any part of a day or night and includes full-day, half-day, night, complimentary, adult, child, season and any other ticket types that gives one the use of an area’s facility.

The National Sporting Goods Association reports in 1998 there were 7.7 million skiers and 3.6 million snowboarders. According to NSGA, 24 percent of snowboarders also ski, therefore, the total on-slope participants were 10.4 million. (24 percent of 3.6 million snowboarders = 864,000. 3.6 million minus 864,000 = 2.7 snowboarders, added to 7.7 million skiers totals 10.4 million on-slope participants). During the 1998-99 season, there were 39 fatalities nationwide (33 skiers and 6 snowboarders). Using NSGA’s 10.4 million on-slope participants, the per-participant skier/snowboarder fatality rate in 1998 equates to 3.75 per 1 million on-slope participants. Note: NSGA estimates the number of participants in various sports, age 7-plus each calendar year.

Serious Injuries – Serious injuries (paraplegics, serious head and other serious injuries) occur at the rate of about 37 per year, according to the NSAA. In the 1998-1999 season, there were 45 serious injuries. Thirty-four of these serious injuries were skiers (27 male and 7 female) and 11 were snowboarders (all males). The rate of serious injury in 1998-1999 was .87 per million skier/snowboarder visits.

Comparative statistics to other sports

Death rates experienced in different activities are sometimes difficult to compare because of different ways of expressing exposure to risk. Below skiing/snowboarding fatalities per million are presented based on “visits” (can be referred to as days of participation) and by participants. Scuba, swimming, boating and drowning (due to boating/drowning) are also listed below.

Skiing/snowboarding

1998 number of fatalities* 39

Number of participants (in millions)** 10.4

Fatalities per million participants 3.75

Days of participation (in millions)* 51.9

Fatalities per days of participation rate (per million) .75

Scuba Diving (most recent figure available – 1996)

1996 number of fatalities*** 85

Number of participants** 2.4

Fatalities per million participants 35.4

Days of participation (in millions)** 18.1

Fatalities per days of participation rate (per million) 4.7

Swimming

1998 number of fatalities*** 1,500

Number of participants (in millions)** 58.2

Fatalities per million participants 25.7

Days of participation (in millions)** 2,324.4

Fatalities per days of participation rate (per million) .65

Boating (registered recreational vessels) (most Recent figure available- 1997)

1997 number of fatalities*** 821

Number of registered vessels (in millions)*** 12.3

Fatalities per million registered vessels 66.7

Days of participation (in millions) n/a

Fatalities per days of participation n/a

Bicycling (resulting from collisions with motor vehicles—additional bicycling-related deaths, such as collisions with other bicyclists in 1996 was 87.)

1998 number of fatalities*** 700

Number of participants (in millions)** 43.5

Fatalities per million participants 16.1

Days of participation (in millions)** 2,564.8

By days of participation rate (per million) .27

Sources:* National Ski Areas Association** National Sporting Goods Association (Sports Participation, 1998 and 1997 editions)

***National Safety Council (Injury Facts, 1999 edition)

Note: The “participant per million” rate is calculated by dividing the number of fatalities by the number of participants. The “days of participation” rate is calculated by dividing the number of fatalities by the days of participation.

An Additional Perspective

Although there is no statistical significance to the following, it helps to offer a perspective: The National Safety Council (Injury Facts, 1999 Edition) points out: 41,200 Americans died in automobile accidents (1998); 5,900 pedestrian were killed (1998); 16,600 died from falls from one level to another or on the same level (excludes falls in or from transport vehicles or while boarding them) (1998); 8,400 died from poisoning by solids and liquids and 600 from poisoning by gases and vapors (1998); and 732 died when hit by falling objects (1996). The National Climatic Data Center (NCD) reports that on average 90 people die in the U.S. each year (during the past 39 years) from lightning strikes. They also report that 67 deaths resulted from tornadoes in 1997.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the number of ski injuries increasing?

The overall rate of reported skiing injuries has declined by 50 percent during the past 25 years according to Jasper Shealy who has studied ski-related injuries for more than 25 years. The much feared broken lower legs in skiing is now a thing of the past, declining more than 95 percent since the early 1970s.

Have snowboard injuries increased?

It’s hard to say if snowboard injuries have increased or decreased because it’s still a relatively new sport; it became a recognized sport in the mid-1980s.

Have some ski injuries increased?

The most significant trend in ski injuries over the past 24 years, according to a study by the University of Vermont Department of Orthopedics, is in ACL injuries, or injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament of the knees, which crosses the knee at a diagonal angle underneath the kneecap. A skier’s chance of getting an ACL injury is about on par with that of a college football player’s chance, and is about 365 times greater than that of the general public, says the University of Vermont.

Who gets killed or injured while skiing?

Most fatalities and injuries to skiers occur in the same population that suffers from high-risk behavior. Victims are predominantly male (85 percent of them are) from their late teens to late 20s (70 percent), according to Jasper Shealy, professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y., who has studied skier injuries. Dr. Shealy says they are usually better than average skiers who are skiing at high rates of speed on the margins of intermediate trails. This is the same population that suffers the majority of all unintentional deaths from injury. In 1995, They suffered 74 percent of all fatal car accidents and have 85 percent of all industrial accidents, Dr. Shealy reports. Males comprise about 60 percent of skiing participants.

Is snowboarding more dangerous than skiing?

After adjusting for age and sex of the participant, snowboarding isn’t inherently more dangerous than skiing, according to Dr. Shealy of the Rochester Institute of Technology, based on a 1990 study of 16 mountain resorts that were statistically representative of U.S. skiing. While 7.4 percent of all ski injuries are due to a skier leaving the trail and hitting a stationary object, only 3.6 percent of snowboarders injure themselves that way. Overall, their injury rates are comparable with skier injury rates, Dr. Shealy reports.

Snowboarders don’t appear to be making the slopes less safe for their skiing peers, either, says Dr. Shealy. In a study presented at the Ninth International Symposium on Skiing Trauma and Safety in 1993, Dr. Shealy reported that 7.7 percent of all ski injuries are the result of skiers running into skiers, while only 2.6 percent of snowboard accidents are caused by snowboarders running into others.

What is being done to improve safety?

Skiers at every NSAA-member resort in the U.S. are given several opportunities to learn how to ski safely. All ski areas endorse and are asked to display, “Your Responsibility Code,” which admonishes skiers and snowboarders to ski and ride within their ability, to watch for skiers downhill, to look uphill before entering a trail, to move to the side of the trail when stopping, use devices to help prevent runaway equipment, observe all posted signs and warnings, have the ability to load and unload lifts, and to practice courteous ski habits. Those who break the code are routinely stripped of their passes by ski patrollers.

Ski areas have undertaken several programs to increase ski safety. Those programs range from establishing family ski areas to increasing the number of monitors on the slopes. More than 85 U.S. areas have participated in ACL employee training to help reduce injuries to the ACL. Increasing the lessons offered to snowboarders has improved the level of proper etiquette among the newest population of on-mountain participants as well. Alpine and snowboarding lessons are offered and encouraged at ski areas. During the 1998-99 season, based on 132 ski areas that responded to the NSAA Kottke National End of Season Survey, 19,301 lessons were given on average per responding resort. An average of 5,134 of these lessons were Level I (never ever), or 26.6 percent of total. Additionally, resorts gave an average of 4,375 snowboard lessons this year, of which 2,226 were Level I (50.9 percent).

What do ski areas do to address the safety issue of skiing?

Mountain resorts expend tremendous energy and expense educating their guests about skier and snowboarder safety. NSAA and its member areas officially endorse “Your Responsibility Code,” the seven slope safety points which everyone who enjoys alpine sports should follow. Also, NSAA created a safety campaign, “Look Before You Leap,” which emphasizes how guests need to use caution when jumping and leaping on the slopes, especially at resorts’ popular snowboard and terrain parks. Posters are displayed at many resorts nationwide. Among several safety campaigns over the years, NSAA also produced a safety awareness video (1996-1997) entitled, “5989, The Rob Baker Safety Awareness Video,” which recounts the tragic death of Rob Baker, a 16-year-old skier who died as the result of a tragic skier/snowboarder collision. In this 9-minute video, viewers are reminded about the importance of following the rules established by “Your Responsibility Code”. The video is used by resorts for their skier/snowboard safety programs and it was produced in cooperation with Sandia Peak Ski Company, Ski Industries America, National Ski Patrol and Professional Ski Instructors of America, Transworld Snowboard Business magazine and Willis insurance.

Safety Initiative 2000, “Heads Up. You’re Responsible” Campaign

The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), along with the National Ski Patrol (NSP), the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA), and Willis and AIG insurance companies, has created the Safety Initiative 2000 campaign to assist ski area operators nationwide address the topic of slope safety education for guests. The Initiative will be launched during the 1999-2000 season. The objective of the campaign is to attempt to further reduce the frequency of accidents and to unify the industry to focus on and communicate a pro-active, strong safety message. We recognize there are inherent risks to skiing and snowboarding. The industry’s concern is that the sport(s) are being portrayed as more dangerous than they really are. It’s important to keep the risks of skiing and snowboarding in perspective and communicate how personal responsibility is key.

The theme of “Heads Up” has been chosen because people generally identify it as a friendly reminder and as a short safety-related message. Also, it’s an easy concept for ski areas to incorporate into their on-going, skier/snowboarder educational programs, signage, etc. “Heads Up” can be used as a simple safety reminder in a variety of ways, such as “Heads Up. Set the Example,” “Heads Up. You’re Responsible” or “Heads Up. Know Your Limits.” The target audiences for the campaign are guests, ski area employees and the media. The National Safety Council supports the National Safety Initiative 2000 and the “Heads Up” campaign. To learn more about it and additional components, log on www.nsaa.org and click on skier/snowboarder safety.

Here are a few other articles you might like:

1. Helmets more popular on winter slopes but it’s still equipment that many don’t want
2. Helmets Must Be Part of Skiing and Snowboarding Culture, Doctors Urge