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New call for helmets in wake of ski death
Mark Prigg and Rashid Razaq18 Feb 2010
Holidaymakers planning ski trips were today urged to wear a helmet after a British woman was killed in Austria on a beginners' slope.
Experts called for new safety rules to be introduced following the death of mother-of-three Tracy Boland.
The 46-year-old suffered fatal injuries after she collided with a 23-year-old Dutch woman. Neither woman was wearing a helmet.
Sales have already gone up sharply this season following the death of actress Natasha Richardson after she fell during a lesson at Mont Tremblant Ski Resort in Quebec.
It is also understood that in the wake of this week's tragedy and several similar accidents in the country, the Austrian authorities are reconsidering plans to make them regulation for all who use the slopes. They already require children to wear a helmet.
Al Morgan of the Ski Club of Great Britain said: “We would urge people to look at all the available research and make an informed decision.
“Children under 13 should definitely wear a helmet, and while we say that for adults it is their decision, that is guidance we are constantly revising, especially in light of this latest accident.”
Arnie Wilson, editor of Ski + Board magazine said: “Everyone should wear a helmet, but they don't guarantee safety — people should see them as an insurance policy.”
Advances in ski technology now mean the inexperienced could be exposed to greater risk. Josef Schmid of the Austrian Ski Federation said: “We recommend that all skiers should wear helmets.
“With the new carving skis, people tend to ski faster these days and they overestimate their own abilities. The slopes are very busy and it's much safer for everyone if you wear a helmet.”
A recent study in Calgary, Canada, showed a reduction in head injury risk with helmet use.
Mrs Boland, a secretary from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, was on a week's holiday with husband, Paul and their three children Charlotte, Patrick and Philip, aged between eight and 12, in the resort of Kaprun.
