When I first thought about getting into MTB'ing I got a mate who was an ex XC racer to show me what I was doing wrong, and give me some basic pointers on technique which I think have stopped me breaking arms/legs etc. I did crash once and break a knee, and now wear a bit of armour.

I hope they will also be takng in to account how many people are not using hospital funding up beacuse they've improved their overall health through getting out on a mountain bikeand changes to their lifestyle beause of it

"visitor numbers doubling....to 330,000 last year"

A thousand a day, give or take?!? Nothing like getting away from it all, eh?

It may not be your cup of tea, or getting away from it, but it's certainly doing something right for a lot of people.


I would also like to point out that 'saftey campaigners are asking that all mountain bikers wear a helmet'. I don't know anyone who rides a MTB off road with any regularity that dosn't wear a lid at all times.

And another thin *waves index finger*

10 Acidents in a weekend, so that's 5 a day, when most people will be there at the weekends, meaning that out of over 1000 people taking part in a potentaily risky activity, only 5 of those need to go to hosiptal, seems OK to me, get 1000 people playing football and how many will need to go to hospital?

All (most) sports are potentially dangerous, I know plenty of people who have broken arms and legs playing football, Rugby is very high risk, even that slow game of cricket people end up broken fingers twisted ankles etc. But what most medical people agree on is that taking part in a sport the benifits to the cardiovascular system far outwiegh the risks. Anyway there's all ways someone who will moan, perhaps they will recomed foam padding on all the rocks and trees, plus full DH kit for all riders...

Safer than my previous interest, kick-boxing.

:-) I've had far less pain MTBing.

If anyone gives the FC any grief about injuries, it is to their advantage to be able to say that they have done a Health and safety audit and show that all risk is at a level that is acceptable by people taking part in a sport such as mountain biking.

The trails are graded, which should help people chose the right one for their abilities.

I wonder if the A&E units at fort william notice a strange and sinsister increase in sking and boarding related injuries when the Nevis range is open for skiing?

"people spanging themselves up" - sir, you have a fantastic way with words :)

"how dangerous is mountain biking?"

- It's as dangerous as you want it to be. Just slow down or use an easier trail! What's the problem?

Having ridden in many locations around the globe and experience a wide variety of different mountain biking communities one of the common areas of discussion seems to be personal responsibility and liability for accidents.

I always feel saddened when I hear about accidents such as Paul Taylors, because this can happen to anybody in the biking community, from first time rider to seasoned professional. I think the key to the future of mountain biking is education among riders.

The general grading of trails is a good start using the standard green – double black diamond trail grading gives riders a good idea of what may lie ahead, however I also believe this should be coupled with individual obstacle grading system. A good example of this is Woodhill forest in New Zealand www.bikeparks.co.nz . The system they use is to grade each drop, jump, ladder or obstacle with a rating from one to five. These are then clearly marked before each obstacle with a well defined detour. The rule used to decide whether to build an obstacles is if a detour cannot be build then the obstacle won’t be built. This allows all levels of riders to get a better feel for the trail. Another technique used is a qualifying obstacle. By beginning a trail with an obstacle the defines the maximum difficulty of the trail discourages less experienced riders not to attempted the trail. A good example of this is at the beginning of whistlers much loved A-Line which starts with a 4ft drop-in.

Finally I believe helmets should be compulsory however making body amour and full face helmets compulsory seems to be impractical and counter productive. I say this because many highly skilled riders only use a helmet (skate style) and knee pads to attempt the most challenging of trails.

Ultimate I believe the progression of the sport requires education and the acknowledgment of personally culpability.

How do the ski resorts deal with Health and safety, they have been having customers 'spangle themselves up' since the 70s.

I waited outside the medical centre in Tignes once while my mate was having his wrists plastered.
It was carnage, with a new broken snowsports enthusiast every few minutes. How do the big resorts manage not to be sued by every newbie snowboarder who thinks its ok to bomb down a black run on their 2nd day?

I think the subtle message here is that doctors were injuring themselves mountain biking which has caused the interest from the H&S executive.

Conclusion ban doctors from mountain biking.....

Seriously though we may soon be required to have a helmet and be medically insured.

Oh goody. Lets just sit in front of the tele nice and safely and clog up the system with heart and wieght problems. Whilst we are at it lets ban Friday and Saterday night drinking do that the number of alcohol related incidents can be reduced. Even better lets ban the sun from shining so that the incidence of heat stroke/exhaustion is kept to a minimum.

'Cause there's going to be an increase in injuries if there is an increase in useage. MTBing is just as dangerous as any other sport, as dangerous as you want it.

Was waiting for health and safety to ban MTBing, great I'll be riding illegally :) adds a certain buzz to it :)

so 0.5% injury rate, acceptable risk to me.

The increase is simple More actual riders and bigger more capable bikes making people take more risks.

If I drive to scotland, then my odds on being injured / killed in the car are way more than that.

The speed alot of people ride Down hills I'm amazed there isn't more bad accidents.

Helmets increase the size of your head, making it harder to stop your head hitting in a kneck breaking kinda way.


Fears kneck braces and back armour will becoming standard equipment soon to.


Role cage built around the bike ??

http://www.hassandlass.org.uk/query/reports/2002data.pdf

makes interesting reading (if ya like statistics)

after a quick look see 24% of all accidents reported are sports related approx 650,000 per annum for the whole country, of which 7.9 % are from wheel based sports motor/cycling/skateboarding/rollerblades compared to to 65% for ball sports.

Its only a dangerous sport if you're pushing your limits. And thats personal choice, for god's sake dont let the nanny state take everything away from us.

I'm covered in small scars from bike crashes, however i consider the most dangerous thing i ever do on my bike to be rush-hour commuting, where the injury potential of being run over by an idiot car driver far exceeds hitting a tree.

Driving is a good analogy, you can dirve safely or not, your choice.

Uuumm several years ago, rather hungover, going upstairs early one morning I tripped on a discarded item of lingerie and spilt scalding tea over me burning my leg quite badly. Obviously tea, sex, underwear, stairs, alcohol all should be subject to a health and safety review!

Seriously - MTB is risky - same as any sport. So what? I got some lessons and what a difference they made to safety, speed and technique. (I go faster, over more dangerous trails - he he he)

MTBing isn't as risky as mountaineering, especially in the Winter months, although the chances of having a small accident is higher the odds are it won't kill you, unlike climbing.

Why I've switched to MTB and easier to do Locally ofcourse.