Wearing helmets a no-brainer

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This article was published 09/12/2011 (5031 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba won’t introduce legislation that would force skiers and snowboarders to wear helmets like Nova Scotia has, a government spokeswoman said.

Dylan Vinet, who was in a serious snowboarding accident nearly three years ago, supports such a law for Manitoba.

“I would love them to do it,” he said. “I think it’d be a great idea for Manitoba. I don’t see what the harm is.”

Vinet was in a coma for two weeks after colliding with a pole while snowboarding at Fernie Alpine Resort in B.C. in 2009.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in hospital for three months after the crash. He required special medical treatment for another year afterwards.

Vinet had to learn to walk again and his memory and cognitive abilities were also affected.

“They weren’t sure if I was gonna make it,” said Vinet, 22, who still snowboards. “If I wasn’t wearing a helmet, I’d be dead right now.”

Accidents that cause head trauma are of particular concern, said David Sullivan, executive director of the Manitoba Brain Injury Association. Many people are unable to continue their current jobs after a single concussion due to migraine headaches and an inability to concentrate, he said.

Vinet, who was an experienced snowboard instructor at the time of his accident, said accidents on the ski hill can happen to anyone, no matter their skill level. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

With or without legislation, he recommends everyone wear a helmet when they ski or snowboard.

Even without a legal requirement to wear helmets, their use is becoming more common among Canadian skiers and snowboarders. Nationally, 75 per cent of skiers and snowboarders wear helmets, according to the Canadian Ski Council, which promotes recreational skiing and snowboarding. That’s up from 67 per cent in 2006.

“We do see more and more people here wearing helmets,” said Joel Pajak, the owner and manager of the Springhill Winter Sports Park in Winnipeg. Pajak encourages people to wear a helmet at Springhill when they hit the slopes.

Bernice Later, the operations manager at Holiday Mountain in La Rivière, is a strong advocate for wearing helmets on the slopes. She said the ski industry in Canada has made a concerted effort to encourage the voluntary usage of helmets. “I really feel like we’ve done a good job of recommending their use.”

Judy Murphy, president and CEO of Safety Services Manitoba, a not-for-profit safety service provider, said wearing a helmet will prevent 60 per cent of head injuries. But she points out that helmets aren’t a cure-all.

“It’s also important to know where you’re going, and understand the slopes that you’re on,” she said.

nick.ashdown@freepress.mb.ca