In Austria, approximately 2,200 injured people need to be treated in hospital every year after a tobogganing accident. That’s about twelve injuries per day during the luge season. Only a few were wearing a helmet during the accident, the Dutch Road Safety Board (KFV) reports. Children are especially at risk.
The serious tobogganing accidents in Tyrol, Salzburg and Carinthia at the beginning of this year have once again shown that the danger of recreational sports is often underestimated. “That is about twelve injuries per day during the tobogganing season,” the KFV says in a press release. About 75 percent of those involved in the accident were not wearing helmets during the accident.
Head injuries are especially common
Most accident victims report to the KFV that they have fallen, tripped, jumped or been pushed. But contact with static objects such as a tree or a notice board is also ‘not that rare’ in 25 percent of cases.
About eight percent of accident victims suffer head injuries; that’s about 176 people per year. Head injuries can be particularly serious: traumatic brain injuries. That is why wearing a helmet is highly recommended. “Helmets are a very simple and effective protection measure while tobogganing. Even a collision with an obstacle at a speed of ten km/h can lead to serious injuries – especially head injuries – in children,” emphasizes Johanna Trauner-Karner, head of the sports and leisure safety department at KFV.
Two people die every year in tobogganing accidents
About 75 percent of those involved in the accident were not wearing helmets during the accident. “Unfortunately, helmets are not yet a given, even in the youngest age group,” criticized the KFV. According to data from ÖKAS, an average of two people per year have suffered fatalities in tobogganing accidents in Austria over the past ten years.
Source: Krone
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