N.J. Senate approves bills requiring ski helmets

[RootDKJ]

It's been awhile since we've had a good helmet thread.

 

TRENTON

[AngryHugo]

As much as I am in favor of helmets, this is just bizarre. Did they even consult with any resort owners? And who will enforce it? The ski patrol? This could also turn the helmet rental business into a total racket. "You can either rent a helmet from us for $20, or get a ticket for $100. The choice is yours."

[Ride Delaware ?]

Its a ridiculous law... I don't mind having a law that makes children wear helmets for anything, but the implementation of this law will cause more problems than benefits... Congratulations Jersey... You suck a little more than you used to... So on the whole scale of things, it makes you minutely worse, but worse nonetheless...

[Johnny Law]

More nanny state bull shit...Who are the people that support this kind of stuff ?

 

The gov't should not be in the business of deciding what is and what isn't an appropriate level of safety in snow sports for anybody.

 

Nobody wants kids to be hurt but the bottom line has to be you want to wear a helmet that's great if not so be it.

[Justo8484]

More nanny state bull shit...Who are the people that support this kind of stuff ?

 

The gov't should not be in the business of deciding what is and what isn't an appropriate level of safety in snow sports for anybody.

 

Nobody wants kids to be hurt but the bottom line has to be you want to wear a helmet that's great if not so be it.

 

i find it interesting that it was a few republicans who pushes this one.

[Ride Delaware ?]

Republicans aren't what they used to be...

[RidgeRacer]

More nanny state bull shit...Who are the people that support this kind of stuff ?

 

The gov't should not be in the business of deciding what is and what isn't an appropriate level of safety in snow sports for anybody.

 

Nobody wants kids to be hurt but the bottom line has to be you want to wear a helmet that's great if not so be it.

 

Johnny Law FTW.

 

i find it interesting that it was a few republicans who pushes this one.

 

That's the first thing I thought, but in the Northeast its all relative for the most part.

[jordan]

it wont be long til they make another law requiring the bar on the chairlift to be down (i think they have this law in colorado? which is kinda dumb considering some lifts dont have bars at all, like one of the lifts at A-Basin)

Colorado has no such law. I am in favor of laws requiring helmets for kids. Adults can make their own decisions. Parents should already require their kids to wear helmets. Having the law in place just protects kids from stupid parents.

Edited August 25, 2010 by jordan

[RidgeRacer]

Colorado has no such law. I am in favor of laws requiring helmets for kids. Adults can make their own decisions. Parents should already require their kids to wear helmets. Having the law in place just protects kids from stupid parents.

 

I think it's VT who has the law requiring that the bar be down on the lift.

[RidgeRacer]

Found this article on onthesnow.com that mentions the NJ mandate (as well as one in CA).

 

http://www.onthesnow.com/news/a/12659/smuggs-doc-says-set-goals-not-mandates-on-helmets

 

Smuggs Doc Says Set Goals, Not Mandates, On Helmets

 

4 hours, 15 mins ago Roger Leo, Executive Editor Comments (0)

 

"Helmets are a good thing," said Robert Williams, M.D., doctor to the Smugglers' Notch Ski Patrol and associate professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

 

"Dr. Rob's" assessment is based on studies of thousands of accidents and the effect of helmets on the outcome, and on years of hauling people off mountains and out of woods, and working on them in emergency rooms.

 

"There's no instance I can think of when you fall and you wish you didn't have a helmet on. There's no reason not to do it, and no reason for the whole Industry not to get out and promote it," Williams said.

 

Skiers and riders should want to wear helmets, he says, and ski resorts should get behind the idea with enthusiasm. He's not as enthusiastic about mandates proposed in various states, including California and New Jersey, and would prefer voluntary goals for ski resorts to work toward before mandates kick in.

 

Williams works with PHAT - Protect Your Head At All Times/On All Terrain - to educate skiers and riders about the benefits of wearing helmets. He says the efforts pay off incrementally over the years, to the point where about 75 percent of skiers and riders at Smuggs in Northern Vermont habitually wear helmets.

 

Helmet use across the country also has been going up, to the point where 48 percent of skiers and riders wear helmets, according to figures compiled by the National Ski Areas Association. Some question whether those figures capture all helmet use.

 

"Instead of legislation that requires people to be in helmets, give ski areas a goal, say 90 percent of skiers in helmets in three years. Easily reached. It's not rocket science, get out and make sure there are posters all through the place, that helmets are easily available, and that people get information about why they should wear them," he said.

 

Williams said, "Vail Resorts jumped on the helmet bandwagon a year and a half ago. I was impressed, they went out in a proactive way in getting all their employees in helmets. I'm very curious about whether they're getting any blowback, perhaps from older-line employees, who might say, ‘I've been skiing 30 years without a helmet, so why do I need that?'"

 

Vail began requiring on-duty staff to wear helmets for the 2009-2010 season.

 

Aspen Skiing Co. this spring mandated its salaried employees must wear helmets while on duty starting with the 2010-2011 season.

 

Intrawest ULC toughened its helmet requirements last season for young people, and for all students in terrain parks. This season Intrawest is requiring employees at all its North American resorts to wear helmets while skiing or snowboarding on-duty in any terrain park. Ski and Snowboard School staff will be required to wear a helmet while working with resort guests in any program that requires the guests to wear a helmet.

 

Williams said, "If you're an employee, and have a uniform on, it's OK to have to wear a helmet. It's like working at a construction site, where you have to wear a hard hat. What you do on own time is a different thing."

 

By contrast, Williams is leery of the mandates proposed in California, and percolating in New Jersey and elsewhere, which focus on young people.

 

"If helmets are good for kids, they're good for everybody. It's hard to escape the logic of that," he said.

 

"The age group I'm particularly worried about is 15 to 30, composed of very, very aggressive skiers, male and female. Those are the ones that it's important to get in helmets. It's much better to promote helmets for everybody," Williams said.

 

"The time has come when we shouldn't be fooling around with this issue any more," he said.

Edited August 25, 2010 by PA Ridge Racer

[OutCold]

So this applies to all 2-1/2 ski areas in NJ? Was it even worth the time?

 

It is a good idea. There's no reason for children not to wear helmets. Adults should of course have the choice, even though they're dumb if they don't wear them.

[rgrwilco]

So wait, Republicans who want the government to stay out of their business want them to get into everyone's business and force them to wear helmets? lol

[Johnny Law]

 

I'm not that dumb to see why the above doesn't make sense on face value. That said why the fuck if I may say so do you want the gov't deciding what you can and can not do when skiing or snowboarding.

 

I am in many ways pretty liberal and don't generally speaking dislike gov't, I also wear a helmet when skiing and have done so since I was 12ish.

 

Still it doesn't change the fact that the mother fucking state, is deciding for people what is and what is not too dangerous to be permitted. I'm sorry but snow sports simply aren't that dangerous to warrant this kind of action. Lets not even get into who the fuck would actually be enforcing this as clearly the NJ senate is incapable of figuring out ski patrol doesn't equal skiing cops.

 

What's next some kind of bullshit safety course before you can shred the super gnar at Mt. Creek, we all forgot a long time ago that gov't is here for our convenience not the other way around. Therefore as far as I'm concerned they can all get off our proverbial dicks and go back to doing shit that actually matters.

[Ride Delaware ?]

Its like anything to deal with adults... They figure we can make some decisions for ourselves... You know, your body is yours to do what you please mentality? However, that is slowly being taken away... It may not be a good example, but you have the right to do what you want when your an adult to a certain degree, and you must be held responsible for those actions... Children can't make sound decisions all the time, and there are many parents who arent smart enough to make those decisions for them. Thats why the law takes care of children. I personally wear a helmet when I board and have taken quite a few headshots... However, I have been known on occasion to trade my helmet for a baseball hat when it is 70 degrees with 15" of slushy corn on the trails, and I would like to keep that option available to me... I dont like my rights being taken away because you never get them back. Every law is just a stepping stone for a stricter law... They would have never tried to incorporate a blanket helmet law for all skiers and riders regardless of age, but they will start at children and start working their way up to adults. They are doing the same thing now with motorcycles...