California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) has proposed a new piece of legislation that would require anyone under age 18 to wear a helmet if skiing or snowboarding. Many states already have helmet laws in place for bicyclists (with the majority affecting children), but helmet usage and snow sports has become a hot topic, recently covered by the New York Times.
The bill, SB880 has been proposed to “safeguard children who enjoy California’s most popular alpine sports: skiing and snowboarding,” according to Senator Yee. He brings up a great point, saying that “ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation where we do not have basic safety standards in place for children.” Yee has teamed up with Dr. Jo Linder-Crow, Executive Director of the California Psychological Association to present the bill. With so many other examples of basic safety standards being required by the state (bike helmets, vaccinations, car seats and safety belts…), ski/snowboard helmets are just the next on the list.
This new bill is sure to spark a heated debate in California, as paternalistic laws usually do. But watching a young kid (sans helmet) careening down the slopes at breakneck speed always makes me a bit nervous, especially when you watch them take a nasty tumble. The proposed law would be structured much like the bicycle helmet law in California, which imposes a fine of no more than $25 to the child’s parents.
Read the full press release in the the Slope Dope blog on SFGate.com.
Related posts: Helmets and Snowsports
