Thanks, but I'll Worry About My Own Head

Natasha Richardson’s recent death as a result to a blow to her head that she suffered during a ski lesson is a terrible thing, regardless of who she is or what she does for a living... Details are still coming out about what happened, but it sounds like she fell on the bunny slope, seemed to be okay, and later died of bleeding in her brain... An epidural hematoma, to be precise...

As Ms. Richardson’s family, friends, and fans mourn her tragic death, the media repeatedly points out that she was not wearing a helmet while she was skiing... I took that piece of information to have the same intended effect as when you read about someone dying in a car accident and learn they were not wearing their seatbelt... You briefly suck air in between your teeth and let out an all-knowing “hmmm” in disapproval of this poor soul’s bad judgment that led to his or her fate...

Now debates are starting to be had by governments everywhere on whether or not to mandate helmet use on ski slopes...

It’s been a long time since I was on a ski slope, but I never wore a helmet as a kid on the slopes... No one wore helmets, as I recall... Helmets are for Olympic skiers who are rocketing down one of the Alps at 70 mph...not for amateurs on recreational slopes or beginners getting a lesson on the bunny hill...

So I was curious...how many skiers perish as a result of ski-related injuries? I know Sonny Bono skied into a tree and died, and I think one of the Kennedys met a similar fate... And now Ms. Richardson... But beyond celebrities, how big of a problem is a lack of head protection on the slopes?

In my search for answers, I found this article... During the 2004-2005 season, 45 fatalities occurred out of the 5.9 million skier/snowboarder days reported for the season, according to the National Ski Areas Association... Forty-five deaths...in 5.9 million days...

Well, maybe helmets are real lifesavers, then, if governments want to mandate them... The same article says that even though helmet use has increased from 25% seven years ago to nearly 50% in the past two years, more than half of fatalities last season were wearing helmets... This article agrees that helmets lose their effectiveness as speeds increase, they may promote increased speeds by creating a feeling of invincibility in the skier, and some argue that helmets impede peripheral vision...

I appreciate governments’ efforts to protect us, but isn’t it kind of a knee-jerk reaction to mandate helmet use while skiing, just because an actress suffered a freak injury that led to her death? A minute percentage of the skiing population dies on the slopes, and more than half of those people are wearing helmets... It doesn’t sound like helmets are a particularly great preventative measure, does it? And we're really only talking about 20 people a year who die while not wearing helmets... Three times as many people die each year after being hit by lightning...

So why mandate helmets? Don’t governments have more important things on which to spend their time? Thanks, but I'll worry about my own head...