Severe accidents due to collisions between skiers1
Press release from the French Academy of Medicine
April 10, 2025
The large number of ski slope users in winter sports resorts exposes skiers to serious collision accidents.
Affecting more than one thousand people every year for over 10 years in the Alpine ski area (1), this type of collision accident occurs in particular on easy, well-groomed slopes, forming ‘boulevards’ suitable to high speeds. This is where skiers who are at a standstill or moving at low speed, in particular children or adults learning to ski, rub shoulders with others descending at high speed without mastering the techniques (alpine skiing or snowboarding), and who are unaware of, or neglect, the rules for preventing accidents on the slopes (1).
Collisions between slope skiers primarily affect the skull (in the absence of a helmet), the face, the thorax and the upper limbs (2, 3). It is the cause of several deaths or serious injuries, particularly among novice skiers who, preoccupied with skiing down the slope, do not see those who collide with them. It differs from accidents involving the skier himself, which are recognized as a consequence specific to the practice of any sport and which primarily affect the lower limbs (4),
While practicing sport is one of the ways of improving health (5), the French Academy of Medicine is alarmed by the continuing high level and the severity of accidents by collisions between skiers. It recommends:
– the installation of large, visible signage on ski lifts and at the top of slopes, reminding skiers that the downhill skier has always priority (6) and that everyone must control his/her speed and, in the event of an accident, incurs civil and criminal liability;
– the obligation for ski resort managers, who work to improve traffic management on the slopes and equipment to make skiers aware of the risks of collision between users, particularly on easy slopes
– the necessity of slope surveillance in order to enforce the rules of good conduct (6, 7) aimed at preventing collisions between skiers, and to regulate dangerous behavior.
1 Press release from the Academy’s Rapid Communication Platform.
References
– Recensement annuel des accidents de ski sur piste par collision (ski alpin et snowboard), Système d’observation de la sécurité en montagne, (Annual census of downhill skiing accidents by collision (downhill skiing and snowboarding), Mountain Safety Observation System) https://www.snosm.fr/fr/domaine-skiable/ski-alpin; https://www.snosm.fr/fr/domaine-skiable/snowboard ( consulté le 11/02/2025)
– Lang T., Biedermann H., Röthler G., et al., Collision injuries on ski slopes, Aktuelle Traumatol, 1980 Jun;10(3):169-77.
– Lochner S.J., Scherr M., Perl M. , et al., Severe blunt thoracic trauma caused by ski collision, Unfallchirurg 2017 Feb;120(2):162-166.
– Association des médecins de montagne, Observatoire d’accidentologie des sports d’hiver, 2022 | 2023 (Mountain Doctors Association, Winter Sports Accident Observatory, 2022 | 2023 (www.mdm.org)
– French Academy of Medicine Rapport 24-10 (C.P. Giudicelli (†) et al., au nom d’un groupe de travail), Améliorer la pratique des activités physiques, du sport et réduire la sédentarité à l’école, un enjeu de santé publique, (French Academy of Medicine Report 24-10 (C.P. Giudicelli (†) et al., on behalf of a working group), Improving the practice of physical activities and sports and reducing sedentary behavior at school, a public health issue) Bull Acad Natl Méd, 2025, 209, 1, p. 2-14
– International ski and snowboard federation, https://wwwfis-ski.com
– Géraut C., Accidents de ski provoqués par autrui (Skiing Accidents Caused by Others) Rev. Prat., 2025, 75, 1-4
CONTACT PRESS : Virginie Gustin +33 (0)6 62 52 43 42 virginie.gustin@academie-medecine.fr
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