In effort to continue to promote child safety in our state, I reintroduced a measure to help make California ski slopes the safest in the nation for kids last week. Among the provisions of Senate Bill 105, all minors would be required to wear helmets while skiing and snowboarding.
Last session, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an identical measure – SB 880 – but vetoed a companion bill that called for ski resorts to develop and publish safety plans.
Enactment of SB 880 was contingent on the signing of AB 1652 – authored by then-Assemblyman and now Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones – and thus the helmet mandate did not go into effect. This year, I introduced the bill as a standalone measure.
It is imperative that we do not have another ski season in which children are left at such serious risk. California’s ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children.
Despite repeated warnings from public health experts, professional athletes, and ski resorts, each winter brings news of hundreds of unnecessary tragedies for the failure to wear a helmet. SB 105 will significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable population.
According to the National Ski Areas Association, 19 of 38 people who died on ski slopes in the 2009-2010 season were not wearing helmets at the time of the injury.
SB 105 will also require resorts to post signs about the law on trail maps, websites, and other locations throughout the property. Following the lead of California’s bicycle helmet law, SB 105 will imposed a fine of not more than $25 on the parents of children who fail to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding.
In signing this piece of legislation last session, Schwarzenegger wrote: “This measure will help prevent avoidable injuries to children while engaging in dangerous activities. While I am signing this bill to demonstrate my support for this measure, I recognize that it will not take effect”
Last year, the Dr. Phil Show focused on the need for greater helmet use by children while skiing and snowboarding. On the show, Dr. Phil McGraw announced his support for my legislation, stating, “I think this is a very timely and important issue to address as kids do dangerous things, and as adults, we have to use our foresight to protect them from themselves,” said McGraw.
Half of all skiing deaths are caused by a head injury. Recent studies show that when helmets are used, the incidence of traumatic brain or head injury has been reduced 29 percent to 56 percent. The Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has found that more than 7,000 head injuries per year on the slopes in the U.S. could be prevented or reduced in severity by the use of a helmet. The CPSC study also showed that “for children under 15 years of age, 53 percent of head injuries (approximately 2,600 of the 4,950 head injuries annually) are addressable by use of a helmet.
How can California not set minimum standards for children’s ski safety when the data is so conclusive that helmets save lives and reduce severity of head injuries? We correctly do not allow parental choice for car seats and seat belts or basic vaccinations for children attending schools; nor should a helmet for kids on ski slopes be optional.
This legislation has been supported by the California Psychological Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, California Brain Injury Association, California’s Children’s Hospital Association, California Chiropractic Association, California Hospital Association, California Ski Industry Association, California Medical Association, California Nurses Association, California Psychiatric Association, California Travel Industry Association, Children’s Advocacy Institute, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology, among others.
Last session, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an identical measure – SB 880 – but vetoed a companion bill that called for ski resorts to develop and publish safety plans.
Enactment of SB 880 was contingent on the signing of AB 1652 – authored by then-Assemblyman and now Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones – and thus the helmet mandate did not go into effect. This year, I introduced the bill as a standalone measure.
It is imperative that we do not have another ski season in which children are left at such serious risk. California’s ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children.
Despite repeated warnings from public health experts, professional athletes, and ski resorts, each winter brings news of hundreds of unnecessary tragedies for the failure to wear a helmet. SB 105 will significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable population.
According to the National Ski Areas Association, 19 of 38 people who died on ski slopes in the 2009-2010 season were not wearing helmets at the time of the injury.
SB 105 will also require resorts to post signs about the law on trail maps, websites, and other locations throughout the property. Following the lead of California’s bicycle helmet law, SB 105 will imposed a fine of not more than $25 on the parents of children who fail to wear a helmet while skiing or snowboarding.
In signing this piece of legislation last session, Schwarzenegger wrote: “This measure will help prevent avoidable injuries to children while engaging in dangerous activities. While I am signing this bill to demonstrate my support for this measure, I recognize that it will not take effect”
Last year, the Dr. Phil Show focused on the need for greater helmet use by children while skiing and snowboarding. On the show, Dr. Phil McGraw announced his support for my legislation, stating, “I think this is a very timely and important issue to address as kids do dangerous things, and as adults, we have to use our foresight to protect them from themselves,” said McGraw.
Half of all skiing deaths are caused by a head injury. Recent studies show that when helmets are used, the incidence of traumatic brain or head injury has been reduced 29 percent to 56 percent. The Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has found that more than 7,000 head injuries per year on the slopes in the U.S. could be prevented or reduced in severity by the use of a helmet. The CPSC study also showed that “for children under 15 years of age, 53 percent of head injuries (approximately 2,600 of the 4,950 head injuries annually) are addressable by use of a helmet.
How can California not set minimum standards for children’s ski safety when the data is so conclusive that helmets save lives and reduce severity of head injuries? We correctly do not allow parental choice for car seats and seat belts or basic vaccinations for children attending schools; nor should a helmet for kids on ski slopes be optional.
This legislation has been supported by the California Psychological Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, California Brain Injury Association, California’s Children’s Hospital Association, California Chiropractic Association, California Hospital Association, California Ski Industry Association, California Medical Association, California Nurses Association, California Psychiatric Association, California Travel Industry Association, Children’s Advocacy Institute, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology, among others.
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