Why Wear a Helmet?

Natasha Richardson ran out of luck. How many falls on a green trail end up as a fatality? You can't blame her for not wearing a helmet, she was a beginner. Would a helmet have saved her life. Of course it would have.

We were shooting when Andy Finch almost sliced into Abe Teter's brain in the Mountain Creek halfpipe on 2004, and when Andy's buddie Lex Carrigan smacked his noggin on the hard ice in the same pipe a year earlier. They were wearing helmets and walked away to ride another day.

This is particularly poignant to me because my son fell while skiing in at Owl's Head in Canada a few weeks ago. He hit his head and the Ski Patrol carted him off the hill on a sled, then called an ambulance to taxi him to the hospital for precautions. We were back skiing the next day. Then I fell last weekend and slammed my head against a tree real hard. I stood up, shook it off and skied on without even a mild headache to complain about. Without helmets my son and I are both, at the least, unconscious.

We produced this story in 2004, but I felt I had to run it again now. Not because my son and I wear helmets, but because Natasha wasn't told how important it is. Host Tony Lanza reported in this RadXSports video.

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[79Datson]

Helmets can save your life to.

[laxjunky204]

I use to think helmets were lame, until i knocked myself out when i tried to do a rodeo. So now i wear a helmet all the time, also now days you feel like an odd one out if you dont have a helmet. HELMETS ARN'T LAME

[GerryPallor]

@johnnyalonso1 I can't argue that athletes are role models to lot of people. Some athletes deserve to be emulated, some don't. But you're right, it is the way things are. No biggie about the name calling, I delete the comments that are totally offensive. I accepted yours because most of it was well thought out, which is the type of commentary I hope to inspire with my videos. Thanks for participating.

[GerryPallor]

@johnnyalonso1 ouch. a broken helmet is a sure sign that your skull would have been cracked. my son took a nasty fall a few years ago and the first think ski patrol looked at was his helmet. it wasn't cracked, but we spent the rest of the day in the hospital making sure there wasn't any damage. hope there were no serious problems as a result of your fall, and thumbs up for your warning about peer pressure.

[johnnyalonso1]

@GerryPallor youre right, man. calling him names is pointless and juvenile - i apologize for my comment. yes, he's a pro athlete and we agree to disagree w what he had to say. but the athletes being role models and you saying that it is "overplayed" bro, i have to disagree. the impressionable will follow. its always been like that. either way, didnt mean to leave such an immature message - again, sorry man.

[GerryPallor]

@johnnyalonso1 Andy's a top athlete, so calling him names is kind of pointless. I disagree with what he says, but a lot of people say the same thing. It's worth listening to and making your own decision. As far as athletes being role models, that's way overplayed. You can admire Andy or any other celebrity without taking everything they say as gospel.

[johnnyalonso1]

@outlawracer2229 yea right??? like that one douchebag andy finch who refuses to use a helmet after he "broke three of them...(and)...do everything to not hit my head..." what kind of answer is that?? some role model

[johnnyalonso1]

@techdeck8899 wow bro - that sounds like a pretty bad spill. im assuming the helmet caught some of the impact of your hit - possibly saving your life.

[techdeck8899]

A while ago, while i was snowboarding, ( 2nd year) i was pressured into hitting a jump i couldnt handle. When i was going down the hill, i knew it was a bad idea, after i hit the jump, i flew foward do to my boar catching edge. I fell on solid ice, breaking my arm, my helmet, and almost my nose and goggles. Wear a helmet, unless you feel risking your life over looks is what you want to do.

[TangeClown]

you dont want your brain examined... that and you dont want to be dead with your skull splattered all over the snow for everyone to see

[TangeClown]

@outlawracer2229 dude its no joke. me and one of my friends would both be dead if it werent for helmets. completely different incidences too. there is no reason not to, unless you cant afford one but at that point spending your money on a lift ticket is retarded

[TangeClown]

@SnowboardSecretsTV yeah ive always wanted a wrist guard but i keep forgetting. ive sprained one wrist 4 times so far..