Way back in university, I broke my collarbone ... while tobogganing.
See, there was this jump, and I was on a GT Snowracer ... and did I mention there a jump? I landed squarely on my shoulder and the crack was audible.
That same year, I also sliced my hand open. I had just finished brushing my teeth in the dorm washroom. I picked up my toothbrush and mug ... and slipped in a puddle of water on the floor. When I realized what had happened, I was feeling awfully tired and there was blood everywhere. Six stitches and 10 years later, I was finally starting to get some feeling in my pinky finger again.
As a result, I strongly believe that we should ban brushing teeth and using bathrooms. Posting "Use at your own risk" signs won't help at all.
Sounds pretty silly right? Well, Canadian cities are starting to use that exact rationale to take away a national past time -- tobogganing.
Yes, there are risks to sledding. Yes, there are also risks to brushing your teeth.
But I really don't think we should ban either one.
I'm loving this video by Laura Cole, protesting the new sledding by-law in Hamilton, Ontario.
See, there was this jump, and I was on a GT Snowracer ... and did I mention there a jump? I landed squarely on my shoulder and the crack was audible.
That same year, I also sliced my hand open. I had just finished brushing my teeth in the dorm washroom. I picked up my toothbrush and mug ... and slipped in a puddle of water on the floor. When I realized what had happened, I was feeling awfully tired and there was blood everywhere. Six stitches and 10 years later, I was finally starting to get some feeling in my pinky finger again.
As a result, I strongly believe that we should ban brushing teeth and using bathrooms. Posting "Use at your own risk" signs won't help at all.
Sounds pretty silly right? Well, Canadian cities are starting to use that exact rationale to take away a national past time -- tobogganing.
Yes, there are risks to sledding. Yes, there are also risks to brushing your teeth.
But I really don't think we should ban either one.
I'm loving this video by Laura Cole, protesting the new sledding by-law in Hamilton, Ontario.
What do you think? Should tobogganing be banned on city property?
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Great article- thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIts a touchy subject when its on city property. I also think there are alot of everyday things that can be considered "Use at your own risk" lol.
ReplyDeleteWe live disappearing into the snow hills in winter! That would be a sad thing
ReplyDeleteIt always seems like anything fun has risks along with it. It's so easy to get hurt doing practically anything, it doesn't seem fair to take all the good and fun things away!
ReplyDeleteThey are banning it here in the states too. I live in Ohio and a couple of cities have banned it and sledding because of kids getting hurt.
ReplyDeleteHere in the states we call it sledding, but they are trying to and I believe starting to ban it here in some states... to me it is so disappointing! I feel it is being banned because too many parents are not monitoring their child while they are out sledding. I rarely see parents out with their children, it's just plain laziness, don't they care about their child's safety? I'm not a helicopter mom, but when it comes to sledding my children have to be old enough (my 4yo hasn't gone sledding yet), I have to be there or a trusted fellow adult family member. It should be a free for all. I have gone sledding hundreds of times, we've made ramps and we even have a sledding hill called "suicide hill" (which was "closed" several years ago), it was so much fun! The most damage we've done there is one of the inflatable inner tubes we were using popped. Sure we'd get bumps, bruises, cuts, scrapes, etc, but we never broke any bones or anything worse. I'm 25 and have never broken a bone.
ReplyDeleteI would think "use at your own risk" would make more sense (cause people are going to do it anyway) & its pretty clear that the City/County would not be held responsible for any injuries.
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