If anyone is a skier here they would know this happens every single time a high-profile person dies in a ski accident.

However, for those saying "we should have a helmet law it keeps you safe" do you really want the government telling you how to protect yourself from yourself? Do I need the government to tell me that I must carry my scissors with the point down so I don't trip on it?

Honestly, wearing a helmet does not prevent you from injuring others. Seat belt laws make sense, since if you fly out of the car you can't control it afterwards and may injur others. Helmet laws do not make sense since there is no protection or advantage for anyone but yourself.

Now, if people want to wear one we aren't stopping them, but if they want to risk themselves and themselves only I won't stop them either. Personally, I only wear a helmet while doing tricks on jumps and rails. But I'll ski the hardest trail I can find without wearing a helmet.

I believe that even with beginner courses like the one Natasha Richardson was on doesn't require anyone to wear helmets, that may even include children.

Adults, I agree should have the choice, but children should be manditory in my opinion.

While I agree with the general sentiment of the original post, that isolated incidents or statistically insignificant situations should not be used to make laws, I’m not so sure that a helmet law would fall into this category; head injuries are one of the more common forms of serious injury, and a large portion of those injuries are entirely preventable from wearing a helmet.

A better example of something that would be pointless to generate a law about would be the incident (last year) where a man had a psychotic episode on a bus, murdered a man and decapitated him. Whether you generate laws based on the event or not, it is unlikely that something similar will ever happen again.

The parents should be responsible for their children. There are laws for not being a responsible parent, which already serve this purpose. Also, let ski schools take responsibility for their customers and offer free helmets for those who want one.

For someone to die in a ski accident on a beginner trail they have to do 1 of two things.

1) hit a tree/chair lift at moderate speed (chair lift is padded) but a helmet won't help you as your internal organs all get smashed to pieces

2) have one of the most retarded falls ever straight into a patch of solid ice. In the US this is near impossible as they groom the trails all the time to prevent lawsuits over injuries. In other countries this may be more plausible. A helmet would help, but grooming the trails is a better solution as that also reduces chances of other injuries like broken arms/legs.

I've skied for 18 years, and the vast majority of deaths I've heard of were because someone was being an idiot and typically involved someone not paying attention to where they were heading. If you are a kid, the first thing you teach them is if you are heading towards a tree just fall over. That will slow you down more than fast enough to keep you safe.

I know someone personally who died in a ski accident (he was probably 40). I skied with him all the time and tought him to jump 20 foot tabletops. He went over a jump and injured his knee. Weeks later a blood clot dislodged and went to his brain and he had a stroke. It is rather sad, but it won't stop me from skiing or jumping. Should we outlaw jumps too?

the thing is, is that people want to make a new law after every bad thing that happens...making laws aren't going to stop stupid people from doing stupid things, it will only make it more miserable for the people who are safe and responsible. but instead of people being responsible for their own actions these days, they look for someone else to blame. so you end up with everyone suing everyone. then people get scared and figure a law will protect them.

i worked in an elementary school for a while and one of the years some kids in another area school were playing dodge ball with basketballs and someone get their neck snapped...instead of them saying ok that was stupid we should all know better than to play dodge ball with basketballs, they made a law banning dodge ball in schools because someone died while playing.

the reality of life is that people are going to get hurt at some point or another. be as safe as you can be and don't make other people responsible for something that you should be responsible for.

It’s not the governments job to protect you from yourself.

Media is fuked theese days.... i cant tell you how pissed i was about the Anna Nicole's death coverage....it got more coverage than the Virginia tech shooting.... wtf is wrong with people.... i never went to virginia tech but i was in tears when it happend and i was sitting and waiting for more news about it.... YESTEDAY i saw some more news about Ana Nicole's death WTF!?

I am for and against helmet laws at the same time.

1) If you are dumb enough not to wear a helmet and die because of it, good riddance. You probably weren't the sharpest tool in the shed.

But

2) The government and insurance companies usually end up footing a huge bill at the hospital because some dumbass thought he looked cool not wearing a helmet. People's stupidity should not cost me money.

So if they passed a law that said if you aren't wearing a helmet you won't receive medical treatment, I would probably be OK with that. An obvious exception would be if you were under 18. I mean if you were a responsible adult and knew what you were in for, I don't see why society should have to pay for it.

So, it's okay for the government to spend your tax dollars mindlessly and it's okay for the insurance to take your money monthly. But it's not okay when they have to foot the bills due to accident? Okay...

Stupid people needed to get hurt to learn. People learn things differently.

If you happen to die before you learned to protect yourself. Then... to bad...

Take the octopussy mom case for example. She's got what? 14 kids now? And who's footing the bills for her stupidity?

Neither the doc that inseminated for her nor her are responsible. Should we ban insemination now, too, because some ass abused it?

Politicians should be penalized for spouting stupidity, too. But no, never.

Sooner or later, you'll have to be inside a bubble to ride a bike.

I view this the same way I do motorcycle/bike helmet laws. Those laws aren't there to protect the other people, they're there to protect stupid people who wouldn't wear them otherwise and could possibly be injured because of it.

Just like we don't need laws telling people not to stab themselves in the kidneys, we don't need laws telling people to wear helmets. Smart people will take the safest route, stupid people will win darwin awards.