16. 05. 12. - 15:58
Less skiers injured in 2011/ 2012 season
New figures released today show that the number of snow sports enthusiasts injured on the slopes during the 2011/ 2012 season was vastly reduced in the province of Vorarlberg.
One quarter less people needed hospital treatment in comparison to the 2010/ 2011 ski season. A total of 3000 winter sports enthusiasts needed treatment in comparison to 4000 the season before.
The study which was carried out by the province of Vorarlberg alongside the Initiative for a safe community and the curatorships for traffic safety claims that the classic skier who ends up in hospital in Vorarlberg is often someone who is a tourist to the area, many of which are German, wear helmets and often get a knee injury.
Between December and April 2012 2000 interviews were carried out with patients and the results of the survey are based on these answers.
The reduction of skiers needing hospital treatment has been attributed to the excellent snow conditions during the 2011/ 2012 season rather than the safer attitude to winter sports in the ski resorts.
The extreme cold temperatures in part also meant fewer skiers were on the pistes at some times which also had an effect on the number of injuries.
The study showed that almost fifty per cent of those injured were tourists in the region, sixty per cent of those injured were injured on the first day of their skiing holiday with a large proportion of the accidents happening in the first two hours of the ski trip.
