Two og Norways biggest skiresorts just stated they will make helmets mandatory!

Afterbang.no

Afterbang.no

Active member
Hovden Alpinsenter, and Kongsberg Skisenter just published on their facebook profiles that helmets will be mandatory in their resorts this and the comming seasons. Fot Park backplate will also be required.

The rule apllies to all, kid or adult, jerry or pro.

This news is about 10- 12 hours old, so chances are big more resorts will follow. (Hovden is the same resort that made the Jerrytrap)

Thoughts?
 
I personally wear a helmet but I think that it should not be mandatory. The feeling of skiing without a helmet is great but I can't justify the risks for myself. If you don't want to get hurt wear a helmet or don't ski. This is probably caused because of a lawsuit against the ski slope and they are being forced to implement this rule to protect against further lawsuits, which sucks that the skiers are being affected.
 
Backplates seem a tad excessive in my opinion. Not sure about the helmets though. On one hand, I feel like it's good to give people a choice. The majority of riders (that I've observed) wear helmets, and those that choose not to wear helmets know the risks involved in not wearing one. On the other hand, things like seatbelts are mandatory, so it's understandable why the resorts would make helmets mandatory too.
 
13895301:chef_boyardee said:
Backplates seem a tad excessive in my opinion. Not sure about the helmets though. On one hand, I feel like it's good to give people a choice. The majority of riders (that I've observed) wear helmets, and those that choose not to wear helmets know the risks involved in not wearing one. On the other hand, things like seatbelts are mandatory, so it's understandable why the resorts would make helmets mandatory too.
Click to expand...

But riding a fucking car is not the same as skiing. Evrybody that skis knows that you can fall and hurt yourself, thats part of the fun. At least I think so. You know you can land on your head attempting a backflip, so why do it? If you wanna ski like crazy, with no risk of getting hurt u can purcase some VR googles. I personally usually wear a helmet, but when I wanna chill, or just hang around, I don't, I don't plan on taking a lot of risk, so I rather enjoy the comfort and feeling of freedom that a beanie gives.
 
13895295:cpohl said:
I personally wear a helmet but I think that it should not be mandatory. The feeling of skiing without a helmet is great but I can't justify the risks for myself. If you don't want to get hurt wear a helmet or don't ski. This is probably caused because of a lawsuit against the ski slope and they are being forced to implement this rule to protect against further lawsuits, which sucks that the skiers are being affected.
Click to expand...

The lawsuits thing in Norway is not like the States, but I get what you saying. And obviousy the resort can do whatever they want, it's their resort. But if this becomes a thing. I can no longer ski park as I want. They're fucking with the Free in freeskiing!
 
13895301:chef_boyardee said:
seatbelts
Click to expand...

I really dislike how seat belts are brought up in every conversation about helmets. They are not equivalent at all. Seat belts are mandatory because not wearing them puts everyone else in a vehicle at greater risk, not just yourself. Helmets put no one but yourself at greater risk. Cannot be compared.
 
i ski with a helmet. had a few crazy crashes were if i wasn't wearing it i would of been pretty fucked. trees, ice, rocks but on a one incidence another person who lost control and blindsided me out of nowhere. its has that 'seatbelt' effect. when you ski without it your really aware of it, feel vulnerable etc. on the flip side people should be able to have the choice if they wear on or not.

i think what the resort should do is rent helmets out free of charge. try take the cost side of it out the equation and make it easier if people want one.
 
13895316:Afterbang.no said:
But riding a fucking car is not the same as skiing.
Click to expand...

13895319:VinnieF said:
I really dislike how seat belts are brought up in every conversation about helmets. They are not equivalent at all. Seat belts are mandatory because not wearing them puts everyone else in a vehicle at greater risk, not just yourself. Helmets put no one but yourself at greater risk. Cannot be compared.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying that I personally believe that skiing/helmets are always comparable to riding in a car/seatbelts. I'm trying to guess the reasoning behind the new helmet requirement. Purely based on the fact that accidents do happen both with driving and with skiing, and both seatbelts and helmets are proven to reduce the risk of serious injury in both events, I can understand why a resort might try and make helmets mandatory just like seatbelts. I personally don't think its a good comparison, since helmets are indeed a personal choice, whereas not wearing a seatbelt does put everyone in the vehicle at a greater risk. But if you were driving by yourself without a seatbelt, i think it could be considered a reasonable comparison to riding without a helmet.
 
13895328:PowPirate said:
i think what the resort should do is rent helmets out free of charge. try take the cost side of it out the equation and make it easier if people want one.
Click to expand...
This is a great idea, although a slightly more realistic plan could be to rent the helmets for reasonably low prices instead. But if the resort is actually making helmets mandatory then they really should provide them for free
 
I think helmets requirements should be kept under 18 but I still don't have a problem with it. Lots of skateparks require helmets. Not a big deal.

I don't understand the backplate requirement though. That seems ridiculously excessive imo.
 
I don't agree with this and I know that resorts in the USA will never make helmets mandatory, so this doesn't effect me at all. But I think you should be able to choose, mostly because most people who should wear them already do. If you ski around a large resort (ie park city where I ski often) its pretty hard to find someone (who isnt my friend) not wearing a helmet. People in my age group and specific region wear helmets too, but many choose not to.

TBH its a personal choice that someone should make for themself (or their children under the age of 18) and if they get injured because they didn't wear a helmet, that is their problem.
 
13895301:chef_boyardee said:
On the other hand, things like seatbelts are mandatory, so it's understandable why the resorts would make helmets mandatory too.
Click to expand...

Seat belts absolutely shouldn't be mandatory imo. It's a fucking stupid law. I understand helmets at the skatepark etc. You're on somebodies property and they have their rules for themselves or insurance. When you're driving around there is no reason to have a seat belt law if you're over the age of 18.

The click it or ticket campaign in the states is a giant waste of time. You wearing a seat belt or not has no impact on other people driving. If cops would target heavy merge areas the way they set up seat belt checks, at least they'd make the roads safer. I see people driving at night and in shit weather with no headlights, merging with no signal, and generally having no idea how to drive. But thank god they have their seat belt on! It makes me feel so much safer.
 
13895491:OFED said:
I feel like an ass saying this but I really hope someone dies or gets paralyzed from landing on their head so everyone else realises how fucking stupid they are riding park without helmets. Helmets are going to reduce concussions and injuries wether you like it or not. Stop thinking you're too cool to wear a helmet.
Click to expand...

This does happen, and you should get the fuck off this site if you're going to say stupid shit like that. Way to be a giant douche. Go play in traffic
 
13895495:OFED said:
Also no matter how careful you ski, there is always the chance of the random jerry hitting your head beause he went 80km/h too fast and was out of control.
Click to expand...

Then wear a helmet and mind your own business.
 
13895507:OFED said:
Why should some poor fucker have to scrape your brains off the pavement because you're too fucking stupid to use a seatbelt?
Click to expand...

Because that's their job? You trying to put people out of business?
 
13895507:OFED said:
I am retarded for supporting laws that have proven to reduce fatalities and injuries? Just when I thought the NS forum couldn't get any worse.

Why should some poor fucker have to scrape your brains off the pavement because you're too fucking stupid to use a seatbelt?
Click to expand...

You just said "I really hope someone dies or gets paralyzed from landing on their head so everyone else realises how fucking stupid they are riding park without helmets. "

You do realize people land on their heads and get paralyzed while wearing helmets? And that's just a fucked up thing to say. You hope people die to "prove" your shitty point on an internet forum? You're a shitty person.

Also, I wear seat belt. As does pretty much anyone else who is smart. Why? Because it's a good idea, not because it's a stupid law. The amount of people getting in a bad crash and getting ejected isn't that high. A lot of people could go without ever wearing a seat belt and be fine, but they choose to anyway. Your argument that it needs to be a law is useless.

As I mentioned before, the cops don't go after things like heavy merges where there are accidents on the reg, traffic cause by the accidents that causes more accidents. But I have seen them set up traps, taking pictures of people in there cars and then pulling them over because they didn't have a seat belt. Both in 35 or under zones.

Why don't we make mcdonalds illegal. Make booze illegal. Let's make a law against anything being dangerous, because some guy on a skiing forum can't handle making good decisions without a law behind it. Fuck lets make parks illegal in general. Lets make ice skating, sledding illegal.

Would that make you feel better?
 
13895512:eheath said:
Because that's their job? You trying to put people out of business?
Click to expand...

Who's job is that exactly? The less gruesome injuries there are the better for everyone involved, what a horribly selfish attitude

Also doesn't account for the poor first responders who certainly didn't sign up for anything, raising insurance cost and your stupid ass taking up space in the hospital if you make it, and all of that for such a marginal gain in comfort like not wearing a seatbelt?
 
13895524:OFED said:
Yes and it shouldn't be the kids choice to wear a helmet, kids are not smart enough to realise not using a helmet in a park is dumb, and a lot of kids' parents arent smart enough to know that either, which is why I think it should be a law to wear a helmet in a park when you're under 16.
Click to expand...

First, I mentioned that I didn't have a problem with an under 18 helmet law in this thread already. Also, most kids in the park these days are wearing helmets. That's the deal they have with their parents. At least in the states.

I've worked in parks where we had a strict helmets required policy too. I'm not a fan of requiring adults to wear helmets even though I wear one. I feel the same with seat belts but whatever.

Wishing somebody would die is pretty fucked, even if you were just saying that to try and make a point or whatever. Not super chill.
 
13895531:theabortionator said:
Wishing somebody would die is pretty fucked, even if you were just saying that to try and make a point or whatever. Not super chill.
Click to expand...

I already retracted that statement, but I guess you have to say it in 3 different comments because your other points are trash.
 
13895495:OFED said:
They are in the same category, you just don't want to admit it.

People die in car crashes from not wearing seatbelts, or get way more injured than if they were not wearing one. What does this mean? More cleanup if people get thrown out of cars, around inside the car, and more medical bills for people who get injured who wouldn't otherwise have gotten injured if they wore seatbelts.

Same goes for skiing, there are more injuries happening with people not wearing helmets, which means more medical bills, more "cleanup" needed by skipatrol, helicopters and ambulances. Also no matter how careful you ski, there is always the chance of the random jerry hitting your head beause he went 80km/h too fast and was out of control.
Click to expand...

No. Just no. They are not the same. Again; seat belts save lives other than your own. Helmets save no other lives but your own.

This is not a matter of public safety, this is purely down to a matter of personal preference. I believe you should be able to do whatever the fuck you want with your body so long as it doesn't harm others. If you don't want to wear a helmet, fine. It might not be the smart thing to do, but go for it. Fuck anyone who wants to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own body.

As for costs: why not just ban skiing then? If you're worried about the incredibly small burden on society from the small portion of people who choose to not wear helmets then you should just be in favour of an outright ban on dangerous sports.

Why aren't helmets required in vehicles? How many brain injuries could be prevented if people wore helmets in cars? The number would be orders of magnitude higher than skiing. Think of all the medical bills and first responder resources that could be spared if helmets were mandatory in cars. Do you advocate for helmets in cars? That's a fair comparison.
 
13895536:VinnieF said:
No. Just no. They are not the same. Again; seat belts save lives other than your own. Helmets save no other lives but your own.

This is not a matter of public safety, this is purely down to a matter of personal preference. I believe you should be able to do whatever the fuck you want with your body so long as it doesn't harm others. If you don't want to wear a helmet, fine. It might not be the smart thing to do, but go for it. Fuck anyone who wants to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own body.

As for costs: why not just ban skiing then? If you're worried about the incredibly small burden on society from the small portion of people who choose to not wear helmets then you should just be in favour of an outright ban on dangerous sports.

Why aren't helmets required in vehicles? How many brain injuries could be prevented if people wore helmets in cars? The number would be orders of magnitude higher than skiing. Think of all the medical bills and first responder resources that could be spared if helmets were mandatory in cars. Do you advocate for helmets in cars? That's a fair comparison.
Click to expand...

Idgaf about people above 16 not using helmets, just kids who don't know better. I was mostly talking about the seatbelt discussion
 
13895536:VinnieF said:
Why aren't helmets required in vehicles? How many brain injuries could be prevented if people wore helmets in cars? The number would be orders of magnitude higher than skiing. Think of all the medical bills and first responder resources that could be spared if helmets were mandatory in cars. Do you advocate for helmets in cars? That's a fair comparison.
Click to expand...

We found an even better solution than helmets in cars though, which is why we wear seatbelts
 
13895522:TomWallnuss said:
Who's job is that exactly? The less gruesome injuries there are the better for everyone involved, what a horribly selfish attitude

Also doesn't account for the poor first responders who certainly didn't sign up for anything, raising insurance cost and your stupid ass taking up space in the hospital if you make it, and all of that for such a marginal gain in comfort like not wearing a seatbelt?
Click to expand...

TBH i thought everyone would understand I was making a joke.

To be real, seatbelts and helments are not the same IMO im cool with seatbelt laws, theyre loosely enforced anyway. The idea of someone telling people they should wear a helmet just bothers me, you're not going to hurt someone more by not wearing a helmet, only yourself.
 
13895495:OFED said:
Same goes for skiing, there are more injuries happening with people not wearing helmets, which means more medical bills, more "cleanup" needed by skipatrol, helicopters and ambulances.
Click to expand...

Also, if you get injured skiing, its likely not a head injury, but if you do get a head injury, its very likely a concussion, which helmets don't prevent. Wearing a helmet doesn't create less work for ski patrol, hospitals etc.
 
13895546:eheath said:
TBH i thought everyone would understand I was making a joke.
Click to expand...

Hmm I completely missed that, personally I don't know with helmets,much more of a grey area than seatbelts for sure
 
13895534:OFED said:
I already retracted that statement, but I guess you have to say it in 3 different comments because your other points are trash.
Click to expand...

Says something super fucked, then complains that other people mentioned it.

Killing it dude.
 
Why back protection for park only? Is there not serious terrain outside of the park? Back protection has not caught on with the average rider so that seems kinda weird. Don't even know if they have back protection for sale or rent in at all the big resorts in America. I don't like extra rules but I always wear a helmet. Maybe I should think about back protection but I probably won't unless it gets really accessible and everyone else starts doing it.
 
13895579:OregonDead said:
Why back protection for park only? Is there not serious terrain outside of the park? Back protection has not caught on with the average rider so that seems kinda weird. Don't even know if they have back protection for sale or rent in at all the big resorts in America. I don't like extra rules but I always wear a helmet. Maybe I should think about back protection but I probably won't unless it gets really accessible and everyone else starts doing it.
Click to expand...

Honestly all the back injuries I know of where a back protector would have helped were off piste hitting rocks under the snow. Also depending on how beefy the required one is, it could make it tough to ride. I rode a skatepark sometimes as a kid that had elbow pads required. I bmxed. Elbow pads are a huge pain in the ass and make it sketchier.

ANybody know what exactly is required? Is it just like a foam chest/back protector? also it's not like a helmet where everyone has one or two, or can borrow one. How many people do you know that have a back protector. I'm sure I know some but off the top of my head, I could name 0.

That fact is going to keep some people out of the park, and not necessarily just jerrys.
 
13895544:TomWallnuss said:
We found an even better solution than helmets in cars though, which is why we wear seatbelts
Click to expand...

Stupid statement is stupid. We also found a better solution to preventing ski injuries than wearing a helmet, which is why we have releasable bindings. Obviously seat belts help, but if you're so worried about head injuries and making sure they're not a burden on society then why not mandate helmets in cars? A quick search shows that in the US 280,000 people a year have traumatic brain injury from car crashes and that car crashes are the number one cause of death due to head trauma. So why not push for mandatory helmet laws in cars?
 
13895301:chef_boyardee said:
On the other hand, things like seatbelts are mandatory
Click to expand...

Thats a good point. Should not wearing a seatbelt be legal ? Is running with scissors against the law ? Where is the line ?
 
13895495:OFED said:
They are in the same category, you just don't want to admit it.

People die in car crashes from not wearing seatbelts, or get way more injured than if they were not wearing one. What does this mean? More cleanup if people get thrown out of cars, around inside the car, and more medical bills for people who get injured who wouldn't otherwise have gotten injured if they wore seatbelts.

Same goes for skiing, there are more injuries happening with people not wearing helmets, which means more medical bills, more "cleanup" needed by skipatrol, helicopters and ambulances. Also no matter how careful you ski, there is always the chance of the random jerry hitting your head beause he went 80km/h too fast and was out of control.
Click to expand...

Why not fix the problem from the bottom end instead ? Why not reduce the number of car crashes instead ? Forcing people to wear seatbelts is practically the same as Trudeau forcing a gender-balanced cabinet.
 
13895536:VinnieF said:
No. Just no. They are not the same. Again; seat belts save lives other than your own. Helmets save no other lives but your own.

This is not a matter of public safety, this is purely down to a matter of personal preference. I believe you should be able to do whatever the fuck you want with your body so long as it doesn't harm others. If you don't want to wear a helmet, fine. It might not be the smart thing to do, but go for it. Fuck anyone who wants to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own body.
Click to expand...

This is pretty fucking ignorant tbh. It might seem like if you died on the slope that's it, the end of the matter. What if you had a crash with someone, cop an edge to the head and bleed out right there. Wearing a helmet could have stopped that completely, maybe a busted helmet but everyone would be skiing away. But no, now someone has to live with the knowledge that they're the one who killed you, accident or not. What if it's a fucking kid who now has to live their life with the feeling they'd killed you... Then what about your family, can you guarantee that they wouldn't pin the blame on the resort and/or the person in the accident, and they're now in a huge fucking lawsuit, and are in debt for the rest of their lives?

It's pretty easy to say that only you suffer if something happens when you're not wearing a helmet. But unless you only hitting a rock, tree etc., there's always another person. Even if it is a tree, there are the responders, and the people who have to drag you down the mountain.

I'm not saying helmets should be banned, i like skiing without one sometimes too, but sometimes you need to realise there's a bigger fucking picture.
 
13895748:eheeth said:
This is pretty fucking ignorant tbh. It might seem like if you died on the slope that's it, the end of the matter. What if you had a crash with someone, cop an edge to the head and bleed out right there. Wearing a helmet could have stopped that completely, maybe a busted helmet but everyone would be skiing away. But no, now someone has to live with the knowledge that they're the one who killed you, accident or not. What if it's a fucking kid who now has to live their life with the feeling they'd killed you... Then what about your family, can you guarantee that they wouldn't pin the blame on the resort and/or the person in the accident, and they're now in a huge fucking lawsuit, and are in debt for the rest of their lives?

It's pretty easy to say that only you suffer if something happens when you're not wearing a helmet. But unless you only hitting a rock, tree etc., there's always another person. Even if it is a tree, there are the responders, and the people who have to drag you down the mountain.

I'm not saying helmets should be banned, i like skiing without one sometimes too, but sometimes you need to realise there's a bigger fucking picture.
Click to expand...

This is so stupid. You can make up all sorts of "what-ifs" about everything as justification to mandate full body armour for everyone at all times.

Your what-if doesn't even make sense. All the blood vessels and arteries that would allow you to bleed out quickly are not protected by most helmets. Should we mandate full face mask helmets? That seems to be what you'd want then. Rurocs for all!

Why not mandate kevlar jackets to protect against getting stabbed by poles? Or kevlar neck guards to actually stop being cut by a ski and bleeding out? Explain to me why these aren't being pushed for but helmets are?

Also I still want someone who thinks helmets should be mandatory for skiing to explain why they don't think they should be mandatory for cars. You can't. There just is no good reasoning.
 
13895704:VinnieF said:
Stupid statement is stupid. We also found a better solution to preventing ski injuries than wearing a helmet, which is why we have releasable bindings. Obviously seat belts help, but if you're so worried about head injuries and making sure they're not a burden on society then why not mandate helmets in cars? A quick search shows that in the US 280,000 people a year have traumatic brain injury from car crashes and that car crashes are the number one cause of death due to head trauma. So why not push for mandatory helmet laws in cars?
Click to expand...

You must be trolling mate, the difference between helmets in cars and on skis is that a helmet gives you negligibly more safety in a car when you already wear a seatbelt and have a functioning airbag, whereas there is no other protection for your head when skiing apart from a helmet. Please explain to me, in as much detail as possible how your binding protects your head in a crash, because that has to be the most ridiculous thing I've read in a while
 
13895820:TomWallnuss said:
You must be trolling mate, the difference between helmets in cars and on skis is that a helmet gives you negligibly more safety in a car when you already wear a seatbelt and have a functioning airbag, whereas there is no other protection for your head when skiing apart from a helmet. Please explain to me, in as much detail as possible how your binding protects your head in a crash, because that has to be the most ridiculous thing I've read in a while
Click to expand...

You're wrong. As I said, over a 1/4 million head injuries from vehicle collisions in the US alone each year. How many head injuries from skiing each year? Wearing helmets while in vehicles would prevent magnitudes more head injuries than wearing helmets while skiing.

I said nothing about bindings and head injuries. Bindings and general injury, yes.
 
13895822:VinnieF said:
You're wrong. As I said, over a 1/4 million head injuries from vehicle collisions in the US alone each year. How many head injuries from skiing each year? Wearing helmets while in vehicles would prevent magnitudes more head injuries than wearing helmets while skiing.

I said nothing about bindings and head injuries. Bindings and general injury, yes.
Click to expand...

I highly recommend you to start wearing a helmet because you really can't afford to lose any more braincells, of course there are still accidents happening with the amount of people driving cars, the point is that seatbelts are highly effective in preventing injuries (and yes that includes head injuries) in traffic accidents and helmets would do little to improve that situation "Among occupants who survived a motor vehicle accident but had traumatic brain injuries, those who had worn seat belts had a better prognosis. Seat belts remain one of the best methods to reduce both the severity of injuries and the number of fatalities." quoted from here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4441959/

As you competently noted yourself, bindings do nothing to prevent head injury and it is therefor smart to use a helmet when skiing, unlike when driving a car, where you are better of wearing a seatbelt and having a functional airbag.
 
This thread should be deleted. Just a bunch of defensive bitching. Anyone remember when Jamie dropped a 250ft cliff with no helmet? (Not that the helmet would do anything)

**This post was edited on Feb 21st 2018 at 10:57:54am
 
13895834:TomWallnuss said:
I highly recommend you to start wearing a helmet because you really can't afford to lose any more braincells, of course there are still accidents happening with the amount of people driving cars, the point is that seatbelts are highly effective in preventing injuries (and yes that includes head injuries) in traffic accidents and helmets would do little to improve that situation "Among occupants who survived a motor vehicle accident but had traumatic brain injuries, those who had worn seat belts had a better prognosis. Seat belts remain one of the best methods to reduce both the severity of injuries and the number of fatalities." quoted from here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4441959/

As you competently noted yourself, bindings do nothing to prevent head injury and it is therefor smart to use a helmet when skiing, unlike when driving a car, where you are better of wearing a seatbelt and having a functional airbag.
Click to expand...

"helmets would do little to improve that situation". How can you say that? You have absolutely nothing to back that up. 280,000 head injuries a year and you say helmets will not help that? That is total BS. Helmets would help save thousands of head injuries a year. I don't see how you're even trying to argue this point.

Here I was thinking no one would argue 'we shouldn't mandate helmets in cars because they won't help prevent injuries' because here I was thinking no one was that stupid.

There is no logic to not mandating helmets in cars other than that it's inconvenient, it's an added cost to driving, and it's your own god damned decision whether you want to wear a helmet.

What about pedestrian-car collisions? How many die from head injuries? How many pedestrians could be saved if pedestrians all had to wear helmets while walking next to roads? Why aren't you advocating for that?

If you want to live in a nanny state where government/business micro-manages every part of your life I suggest moving to Norway. Seems like they're well on their way.

Otherwise wear you own helmet and fuck off when if comes to other people's lives and choices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top