Former freestyler launches grassroots campaign for national helmet standards
Judging by the number of helmets you see on the slopes and in the skateparks these days, people are finally starting to use their heads.
Once a rarity, more and more people are reaching for helmets before snowboarding, skiing, climbing, kayaking, skateboarding, inline skating, cycling, and participating in other sports where there’s a chance that a head injury can occur.
In the sport of cycling, which leads other sports in helmet use, the Canadian Safety Council estimates that three out of five adults and roughly 87 per cent of children wear helmets, based on recent surveys. That’s a significant increase over a study in the late ’80s that determined that as few as two per cent of children were wearing helmets.
The number of deaths and serious injuries has dropped significantly as a result of helmet use, proving that helmets do save lives.
While the growing use of helmets in sport is definitely a step in the right direction for reducing head and spinal cord injuries, one former freestyle skier is afraid that people may be putting their trust in helmets that aren’t up to the task they were bought to perform.
"When people come into stores to buy a helmet, they don’t ask questions about safety, just about how it looks on their head," says Richard Kinar of West Vancouver, describing a friend’s experiences in the retail industry.
"That’s a serious problem. And I’m sure that they’re not asking questions because they naturally assume that these helmets passed the same standards that their cycling helmets and hockey helmets have gone through, and Canadian standards are the highest in the world."
According to Kinar, only cycling and hockey helmets are subjected to standardized testing and rated for performance, through the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). There are currently no minimum standards in Canada for helmets used in skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, inline skating and a wide variety of other sports.
While some helmets are rated by various international standards, the CSA standards for hockey and cycling helmets are generally tougher.
Also, compliance with international standards is voluntary.
Kinar got directly involved with the helmet issue while working in speed control at a North Shore mountain. One day he witnessed a collision between two kids, both of whom were wearing helmets. They weren’t going very fast at the time, and yet one of the kids was briefly knocked unconscious.
"I couldn’t understand why that happened, so I started to read the fine print on helmets. I was pretty shocked to find out that there wasn’t a Canadian safety standard, something I just assumed would be there," he said.
Kinar did some more investigating, and discovered that the problem wasn’t unique to the ski industry.
The city of North Vancouver recently passed a bylaw that makes helmet use mandatory for skateboarding, scooters, and inline skating, but none of the helmets used in those sports had safety ratings either.
One manufacturer Kinar has spoken to has suggested that foreign companies may be taking advantage of Canada’s lax helmet standards to "dump" cheaply made helmets on the market. The same manufacturer also said that "some helmets being sold on the Canadian market offer no more protection than putting a bag of milk over your head."
As a former freestyle skier, and a father of two children, Kinar has always been a believer in helmets. That belief was reinforced a few years ago when one of his children was in a collision with a neighbour’s car while riding his bike. Kinar believes a bike helmet saved his child’s life.
"A cycling helmet actually saved my son, so you can say I feel very strong about helmets," he said.
Concerned that consumers may be purchasing cheaply made or unsafe helmets, and weren’t making the distinction between single-impact and multiple impact helmets, Kinar started a grass roots campaign out of his home to lobby for a national CSA standard for all sports helmets.
At the federal level, he has been in contact with the CSA, members of the Senate from B.C., Industry Minister Allan Rock, and John Reynolds, the leader of the official opposition and Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast.
Locally, he has talked the matter over with MLA Ted Nebbeling, and presented the concept to municipal councils in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Richmond, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Vancouver and Whistler.
On June 16, Whistler council passed a motion to accept a letter from Kinar, and to back a resolution in favour a national sport helmet standard at the Union of B.C. Municipalities’ annual general meeting in September.
Other municipalities have also voiced their support for the initiative, as has Dr. Brian Hunt, a prominent Vancouver neurosurgeon and helmet advocate. Dr. Hunt believes that the cumulative impact of minor head injuries can lead to learning and behavioural problems for some kids, and that better helmets are the answer.
If all goes well at the UBCM, Kinar hopes the issue will be part of the national agenda at the next Federation of Canadian Municipalities general meeting.
With wide national support, a national standard for helmets could be created in the next 12 to 18 months, he said.
Kinar decided to address the issue at a municipal level first, because he says that’s where the debate on helmet bylaws for user groups, like skateboarders, is being fought. As a member of the North Vancouver Small Wheel Association, he helped to bring in a bylaw that makes helmet use mandatory for all skateboarders, inline skaters, and scooter riders in all city parks, including skate parks.
In addition to helmet safety standards, Kinar feels more work has to be done to distinguish between single impact and multiple impact helmets.
Single impact helmets, like many of the light foam helmets manufactured for cycling, are built to break on impact, absorbing most of the force.
Some helmets may be partially broken or weakened by smaller impacts, however, and need to be checked over and even replaced regularly.
"People have to be aware that the $200 (single impact) helmet they bought is garbage after a couple of good knocks. I don’t know how appropriate they are for kids in terrain parks who are falling on a regular basis," said Kinar.
It also turns out that Kinar wasn’t the only person who was surprised to discover that there aren’t any minimum standards or certification for helmets outside of cycling and hockey.
Most retail operators around the province assumed that a PST exemption that applied to bike and hockey helmets also applied to helmets for skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding and other sports. Without CSA certification, however, the exemption did not apply.
Now retail stores will have to repay that PST, dating back seven years to the exemption.
