Tougher regulation on head protection needed for skiing and cycling

In this blog Adam Lovatt looks at the issue of head injuries in skiing and cycling and considers what developments there might be in the near future as governing bodies try to grapple with this increasingly discussed issue.

The recent skiing accident which Michael Schumacher had in the French Alps has once again raised the issue of whether people on the slopes should be required to wear a ski helmet. In Schumacher's case, it is thought that the helmet he was wearing saved his life. On average 24-26 people die each winter in France alone from avalanches, highlighting the dangerous nature of winter sports.¹ Whilst these deaths cannot be directly attributed to head injuries, the death of Natasha Richardson in 2009 saw a boom in the sales of ski helmets² and the same may result from the high profile accident Schumacher has suffered.

The wife of James Cracknell, who suffered serious head injuries in a bicycle accident in the USA in 2010, has written in the wake of the Schumacher accident how the wearing of a bicycle helmet saved the life of the former Olympic rower and how children should be made to wear helmets when on a bike and the slopes.³ Beverley Turner has powerfully argued that if kids wear helmets from an early age, they will continue wearing them as they enter adult life and will hopefully encourage their children to follow suit.