Helmets For Kids Laws Spread Around The World
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Laws making the wearing of helmets a legal requirement for children are becoming increasingly common and individual resorts are asking children to wear helmets too in some countries where helmet wearing is not a legal requirement.
Austria looks set to follow Italy and make helmet wearing obligatory for under 15s this winter. The province of Lower Austria, which is not home to any major destination resorts although it is the location of Lilienfeld where modern downhill skiing began 105 years ago, already introduced the law in March, but it now seems likely the whole country will follow suit. 2010 Olympic hosts Canada are reported to be considering a helmet law for the coming winter too.
There were several high profile collisions and deaths last winter where it was felt likely that helmet wearing might have saved the (adult) fatalities and both Austria and Switzerland each report totals of more than 5,000 head injuries on the slopes each season.
Italy introduced their helmet law, making it a legal requirement for under 14s to wear a helmet, on January 1st, 2005, There is a fine of 150 euros for breaking the law.
Individual ski areas they have made helmet wearing compulsory for children in the last few months include Argentina’s leading resort of Las Lenas, and the world’s largest indoor snow centre, Snowworld in Holland.
In the US, Vail has announced that children under 12 taking lessons in the ski schools of their five resorts (Beaver creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly and Vail) will be required to wear helmet, and that all their staff will be required to wear helmets when involved in working on skis or boards on the slopes.
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