In the wake of , 2013 closed with yet another look at the dangers of traumatic brain injuries and just how little we are doing to protect ourselves on the slopes. Despite improving technology, helmets cannot keep up with skiers going bigger, faster, and higher, which Marc Peruzzi discusses in 鈥After the Crash鈥 in the December issue of聽国产吃瓜黑料.听
Helmets are in fact quite good at preventing lacerations and fractures but are doing very little in terms of protection from concussions and TBIs. As contributing 国产吃瓜黑料 飞谤颈迟别谤听Kelley McMillan聽explains in her recent , the root of the issue lies in the increase of risk-taking behavior. Terrain parks are getting bigger and steeper, backcountry access is getting easier, and new equipment is allowing everybody to go much faster and higher than ever before.
“It’s such a perfect storm for the demographics [skiing and snowboarding are] being marketed to,” McMillan says. “People really need to take more responsibility of their skiing.”
鈥淭here鈥檚 this energy drink culture now, a high-level, high-risk culture, that鈥檚 being marketed and impacting the way people ski,鈥 Robb Gaffney, a sports psychiatrist, told The Times.
Helmets are undoubtedly providing some level of safety and are even saving lives, yet putting one on doesn鈥檛 simply eliminate all the risk. There is an unfortunate history that “when you make something safer, people will take more risks,” McMillan says.
UPDATE; January 8, 2014:
New helmet-cam footage reveals Schumacher was 鈥渙ff-piste鈥 when he crashed in the French Alps late last year. In an announcement on Wednesday morning, investigators referenced a two-minute clip of Schumacher鈥檚 personal camera, which revealed the Formula One racer was skiing off the groomed trail when he crashed.
The 45 year-old Schumacher remains in a medically induced coma at a hospital in Grenoble.听 According to reports from the , the December 29 crash split Schumacher鈥檚 helmet in two upon impact. Investigators are still studying the footage, but Schumacher reportedly fell face down and struck his head on a rock. Doctors are claiming that the ski helmet did in fact save the driver鈥檚 life.
There is no timetable for the investigation and experts are being asked to analyze the helmet-cam footage to better understand the crash.
国产吃瓜黑料 Executive Editor聽Sam Moulton聽spoke聽about TBIs on the morning of January 2, 2014.