Ski collision accidents soar in France: skiers reminded of rules

This year’s ski season may be coming to a close in France, but skiers are still being reminded of the rules of the pistes, as collision accidents increase.

Health authority l'Académie nationale de médecine issued the warning on April 10, after a reported spike in accidents. It called for ski resorts to improve their signposting, and for skiers to behave more responsibly when on the slopes.

In the press release, it said: “[We are] alarmed by the consistently high level and severity of accidents involving collisions between skiers.”

Read also: British skier dies in French Alps after violent collision with stationary skier

Each year, at least 1,000 collisions between skiers are recorded by the mountain safety system Système national d'observation de la sécurité en montagne. In some particularly severe cases, these have been fatal.

“Deaths or serious injuries affect in particular beginner skiers who, preoccupied by what is happening at the bottom of the slope, do not see those who hit them coming,” the académie said.

It emphasised that accidents often occur “on easy, well-groomed slopes”, which form “boulevards [that are] conducive to high speeds”. 

“This is where skiers who are stationary or travelling at low speed, especially children or adults learning to ski, come into contact with others who are travelling at high speed without mastering the [safe] techniques,” the release said.

Safety recommendations

The authority cannot make laws, but it can issue recommendations. Its advice to improve this situation include:

• Improving signage to remind people that the skier coming downhill always has priority

• Adding signage to remind everyone to control their speed, emphasising civil and criminal liability in the event that a skier is found to have been behaving irresponsibly, or to have caused a collision

• Improved traffic management on the slopes by resort managers 

• More efforts to make skiers aware of the dangers

• The introduction of slope surveillance, in order to “enforce the rules of good conduct (and) regulate dangerous behaviour”

Yet, the académie did not mention the proposed compulsory wearing of - helmets, despite much existing debate on the issue - and whether this would make skiing safer. 

Read more: American and Briton die in separate sports accidents in French Alps 

It did say that the skull and face were among the most common areas to be injured “in the absence of a helmet”, however.

In France, there is no obligation for skiers to wear helmets, in contrast to countries including Italy, where those under 18 are required to do so. In practice, some skiers in France do wear helmets, particularly if they are using more difficult red- and black-rated pistes.