I know there has been a thread on helmets and whether we wear them, why or why not, and how often we see them on other skiers and snowboarders. I know the divas, very rightly, are very helmet-friendly. And not that we need to feel justified or anything, but this article came off of the Santa Fe New Mexican wire services and just validates WHY we should protect our lovely heads. (I'm ignoring the guy who thinks it takes more than a helmet for some injuries. It sometimes takes more than a seatbelt, but you do what you can.....):
More skiers use their heads for safety
For decades, many skiers thought it wasn't cool to wear helmets for safety. But now they are warming to the idea: Safety experts estimate an average of 40 percent of skiers and snowboarders use them.
The issue arose anew after Geoffry Bradeen, 45, of Portland , Ore. died of a head injury Jan. 5 while skiing at Mount Hood Meadows. Investigators say he apparently was hit from behind by a snowboarder. A helmet would likely have saved Bradeen, who died of a skull fracture, Oregon's medical examiner told The Oregonian.
But studies show such collisions are rare and account for only 6.4 percent of reported ski accidents, Jasper Shealy, who has studied skiing and snowboarding injuries and fatalities for 35 years, told the paper. He said most skiing and snowboarding deaths are caused by hitting a tree or other fixed object at high speed, resulting in chest or torso injuries.
"Frankly, you're going to need more than a helmet to prevent that fatality," he said.
Shealy and others looked at 562 deaths from fall 1991 through spring 2005, finding 60 percent were the result of a skier or snowboarder hitting a tree.
Hitting the snow is the second-biggest killer, with 9.7 percent, and hitting man-made objects, such as lift towers, is third at 7.6 percent.
The researchers also found that helmet use has increased by up to 5 percentage points a year, but the number of deaths still averages 38 a year, unchanged.
A U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission study concluded 44 percent of 17,500 head injuries to skiers and snowboarders in 1997 could have been prevented or reduced in severity with helmet use. It suggested helmets could prevent an average of 11 deaths a year.
More skiers use their heads for safety
For decades, many skiers thought it wasn't cool to wear helmets for safety. But now they are warming to the idea: Safety experts estimate an average of 40 percent of skiers and snowboarders use them.
The issue arose anew after Geoffry Bradeen, 45, of Portland , Ore. died of a head injury Jan. 5 while skiing at Mount Hood Meadows. Investigators say he apparently was hit from behind by a snowboarder. A helmet would likely have saved Bradeen, who died of a skull fracture, Oregon's medical examiner told The Oregonian.
But studies show such collisions are rare and account for only 6.4 percent of reported ski accidents, Jasper Shealy, who has studied skiing and snowboarding injuries and fatalities for 35 years, told the paper. He said most skiing and snowboarding deaths are caused by hitting a tree or other fixed object at high speed, resulting in chest or torso injuries.
"Frankly, you're going to need more than a helmet to prevent that fatality," he said.
Shealy and others looked at 562 deaths from fall 1991 through spring 2005, finding 60 percent were the result of a skier or snowboarder hitting a tree.
Hitting the snow is the second-biggest killer, with 9.7 percent, and hitting man-made objects, such as lift towers, is third at 7.6 percent.
The researchers also found that helmet use has increased by up to 5 percentage points a year, but the number of deaths still averages 38 a year, unchanged.
A U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission study concluded 44 percent of 17,500 head injuries to skiers and snowboarders in 1997 could have been prevented or reduced in severity with helmet use. It suggested helmets could prevent an average of 11 deaths a year.
