Helmet debate re-ignited
Saturday January 17, 2009 - Email this article to a friend

Unfortunately it’s not quite as black and white as wear a ski helmet and you are safe or don’t wear one and you are putting your life at risk.

The German newspapers have been debating the issue recently after a collision on the ski slopes between a well-know politician, Dieter Althaus, the governor of the state of Thuringia and a Slovakian woman on the slopes of Riesneralm in Austria. 

She died and was not wearing a ski helmet. He survived, though is in a coma, and was wearing a ski helmet. The 41-year-old woman had 4 children.

She died on her way to hospital from multiple skull injuries.

Safer to wear a helmetThere have been at least 3 other deaths in recent weeks as a result of ski collisions on the slopes.

We have already reported on them here at PlanetSKI.

The hit and run accident in Italy and a young girl hitting a tree in America are such examples.

Doctors say Althaus’s survival was helped by wearing a ski helmet and now helmet sales have almost doubled in Germany on the news.

Demand has "increased dramatically," said Werner Haizmann, president of the Association of German Sports Retailers.

Some shops in the country are even reporting ski helmet shortages.

Helmet sales have increased steadily in Europe in recent years and many more people wear them.  In parts of Italy it is compulsory for children to wear them and many ski schools in other countries insist that children wear them. 

Vast majority wear a helmet It’s estimated 90% of children wear one.

So, what difference do they make?

For some accidents it makes little difference as the ski helmet can not absorb the impact of the crash.  For example if you hit an immobile object head on at high speed (a tree, a rock or an unprotected pylon) the force will simply be transferred elsewhere.  In many of these crashes people suffer broken necks. 

However for glancing blows a ski helmet undoubtedly helps.

Here in Switzerland a recent convert is Christopher Lloyd Owen who bought one last week while on holiday.

Lloyd Owen (left) in new ski helmet“I am quite a competent skier and sometimes go quite fast, but I can still get it wrong and fall, and I've only got one head.  Skis don't always do the sensible thing either in a fall.
Worse though is the quite high likelihood of being knocked flying by someone else,” says Lloyd Owen.

“At 56 I am now nearer death than birth, but I don't see why I should purposefully be hastening the former. My only regret is that I couldn’t find a green one to match my yellow jacket.  I’m a Norwich City fan you see!’

There have been numerous studies and some figures bandied around even claim you are 80% safer if you wear a ski helmet. However here at PlanetSKI we are slightly scepticial about putting a figure on it, but it just seems common sense to wear one.

After all if you are involved in a serious crash would you rather have a ski helmet on or not?

The slopes though are pretty empty at the moment. Check out the latest blog from James Cove.

Bookmark this page

Related Articles