Skiers' safety a concern.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

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Legislators targeted the slopes in 2010, introducing bills dealing with safety for skiers. Even though the number of fatalities and serious injuries has remained stable in the past decade, two issues have caught the concern of legislators: helmet use and out-of-bounds skiers.

Lawmakers in California, New Jersey and New York introduced bills this year that would require young skiers and snowboarders to wear helmets. New York legislators also considered a bill that would require helmet use for all ages. None has passed so far.

A particular area of contention is who would enforce such requirements; some of the New York bills would put the onus on the ski resort operators, who generally oppose these bills.

Another safety concern for legislators involves skiers and riders ignoring out-of-bounds markers.

Washington Senator Jim Kastama, a volunteer ski patrol member at Crystal Mountain, has seen first-hand how risky this behavior can be. "Even though it is against the law to cross rope...