Limitations
While helmets are effective at preventing or reducing minor injuries, they have not been shown to reduce the number of fatalities despite the fact that as many as 40% of skiers and snowboarders wear helmets. "There is no evidence they reduce fatalities," according to Dr. Jasper Shealy. "We are up to 40 percent usage but there has been no change in fatalities in a 10-year period."
Helmets are tested for effectiveness at about 14 mph (23 km/h), but the typical maximum speed of skiers and snowboarders is approximately twice that speed, with some participants going much faster. At such speeds, impact with a fixed object is likely to be fatal regardless of helmet use. By contrast, in an impact with icy snow wearing a helmet can be the difference between a minor head injury and a significant or life-threatening head injury.
Moreover, helmet use may result in risk compensation i.e. skiers and snowboarders behaving less cautiously when they feel protected by a helmet. While some studies have shown that helmeted skiers tend to go faster and helmet-wearing has been associated with more risky behavior other studies find that helmet use is not associated with riskier behavior.
Read more about this topic: Ski Helmet
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