Helmets and the Law

The province of Nova Scotia in Canada is the first to pass a law requiring all skiers and snowboards (skiboarders that means you too) to wear helmets on the slopes. The law comes into effect next ski season, and the fine for getting caught shredding without a helmet? $250.

A similar law was vetoed in California, while New Jersey will be making it mandatory for minors under 18 to protect their brains with a helmet. Intrawest, owners of Tremblant, Blue Mountain, Snowshoe, Stratton, Winter Park, and Steamboat has made it mandatory for children and terrain park riders to wear a helmet after an actress died at one of their resorts following a brain injury in 2009.

The Quebec Ski Areas Association years ago passed regulations for their terrain parks, which regulates the size of features, requires resorts to post signs in front of them and that all terrain park riders wear helmets, but this was never made law.

Helmet use is on the rise whether they are law or not, stats show that 9 out of 10 riders in Canada already wear a helmet.

[poll id=”4″]

Do you think helmet laws are the way to go? Why or why not?

2 replies on “Helmets and the Law”

  1. This law is a joke, a waste of money and does nothing to prevent brain injury first and foremost no helmet in Canada meets the CSA standard and even if they did all the standards are rated to 20 KM per hour the average Skier does 45 KPH, so if you hit a tree over 20 KPH the helmet does nothing to prevent injury. Next 83% of the traumatic injuries are concussions, helmets do nothing to prevent concussions. This stat is noted by ski Canada, Nova Scotia report on helmets, US ski council etc. Concussions injuries are internal when the head suddenly stops helmet or not and the brain impacts the INSIDE OF THE SKULL, no helmet will prevent this. In the last 10 years there has been 11 traumatic injuries in NS. 83% were concussions so that leaves 2 injuries and the impact occurred over 20 KPH. Net prevention if they were wearing helmets was 0. But the NS will hire more inspectors (Tax dollars at waste) to ensure that everyone is wearing a helmet and once the CSA standard is out there the everyone wearing a helmet will have to throw them out and buy new ones. The inspectors can even order you to take off your helmet and if it doesn’t meet the standard you are fined as well. This law does little and increases the cost of a safe and healthy sport. For some puts it out of financial reach and leaves another kid sitting on the couch gaining weight and that is the most dangerous thing to their health. The law is not even supported by the past president of the Canadian Safety council.
    some articles to support this are as follows:

    http://www.croatiantimes.com/index.php?id=2575

    http://www.thestar.com/sports/wintersports/article/1122561–many-ski-helmets-provide-precious-little-protection-experts

    http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1098604

    http://thesextant.ca/2012/02/01/mandatory-helmet-law-ill-conceived/#comment-555

    http://gov.ns.ca/hpp/publications/NS_Helmet_Policy_Paper.pdf

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