by Jerrie Lynn South-DeRose

Created on: March 21, 2009

Why Wearing Helmets on the Slopes Should be Mandatory for skiers.

Most head injuries are the direct result of a failure to wear the proper protective gear, whether the victims are skiing, skate boarding, snow boarding, riding a bicycle or a motorcycle, or engaging in other higher risk activities. This point is illustrated by the recent death of movie and Broadway icon, Natasha Richards a few days after falling during a ski lesson at the age of forty-five, the 1997 death of Robert Kennedy's son Michael in 1997, and the 1998 death of Senator and one time television star and singer Sonny Bono. Neither Ms. Richardson nor Michael Kennedy were wearing helmets.

The cause of Natasha Richardson's death, according to the autopsy report, was an epidural hematoma. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the New York Citymedical examiner's office, stated that an epidural hematoma causes bleeding between the skull and the lining of the brain. Other injuries that can result from a fall where helmets are not worn are fractured skulls, blood clots, and a damaged brain stem, all of which can be fatal or can end with the victim being paralyzed or left in a permanent vegetative state.

A high percentage of skiing, and other accidents where the victims choose not to wear helmets, end in death, mainly from head injuries, although the effects of the fall may not be immediate and there may not be any outward signs of a

traumatic brain injury for the first hour or more. Helmets lessen the risk of receiving this kind of injury.

Protective gear for skiers is available in a variety of colors, styles, and designs, so that skiers and persons engaging in other activities do not have to give anything up in the way of fashion and comfort. Goggles are also available in a variety of colors and styles. All stores that sell ski clothing and gear carry goggles and helmets, as well. Purchases can also be made from on-line retailers specializing in helmets, goggles, and other ski wear.

Sadly, most people who engage in potentially dangerous sports and other activities, believe that they would never fall victim to a fall or accident and therefore do not feel the need to purchase and wear helmets. Others do not wear helmets because they find them restrictive in the sense that they hold to the belief that the head gear would not allow them to feel the wind blowing through their hair and that wearing a helmet would feel awkward, although the engineers and designers of modern helmets have taken those concerns into account.

There are a variety of laws in place geared towards safety, although many of those mandatory laws only relate to motorcycles and/or bicycles, that seek to address the issue of "safety first". There should be laws in place to require the wearing of helmets for all sports which have a high rate of debilitating injury or death, since people are prone to not always making the appropriate choices when it comes to safety.

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