New standards for ski helmets introduced

Skiers and snowboarders wondering what helmet can best protect them from head injuries will soon be able to buy ones tested and approved by the Canadian Standards Association.

The CSA developed a new standard for alpine skiing and snowboarding helmets last June and will begin providing testing for certification of the protective headgear next month, said John Walter, vice-president of standards for the non-profit organization.

"This is the first such standard in Canada … specifically developed to meet the needs of Canadians by Canadians," Walter said Monday. "These helmets are meant to sustain multiple impacts, where a number of helmets that are manufactured are only supposed to [take] one severe fall and they should be thrown out and another one purchased."

The move means that manufacturers of alpine ski and snowboard helmets will have to submit them to be tested at an accredited laboratory before they can put the CSA mark on their helmets. But manufacturers are under no obligation to submit to testing.

That's why Liberal MP Hedy Fry recently tabled a private member's bill that would require non-CSA approved snow sport helmets to be banned under the Hazardous Products Act. She is urging the Conservative government to fast-track the bill through a Governor-in-Council order.

Currently, alpine ski and snowboard helmets are "self-certified" by manufacturers to American and European standards. In Canada, there are no requirements for helmets to meet any standard and some helmets may offer little protection at all.

The CSA is to formally announce its certification testing Tuesday, less than a week after actress Natasha Richardson died from a brain injury she sustained from a fall while at Quebec's Mont Tremblant ski resort. She was not wearing a helmet.

Walter said the announcement had been planned for about two months, but he acknowledged that Richardson's tragic death has made the issue of protection from head trauma even more timely.

"You hear people say, 'I wouldn't have worn a helmet before, but I will now.' So obviously that kind of attention will help people be aware that they need to wear a helmet."

Traumatic brain injury is the main cause of death among skiers and snowboarders, according to an international review published in 2007 in Injury Prevention, a peer-reviewed journal. Other research has shown that helmets used for skiing and snowboarding are associated with a 60 per cent reduction in head injuries.