Skateboards, Skateboarding and Safety

Skateboarding can be great fun and good exercise. However, many accidents and injuries occur and it is important to address the issue of safety.

Many people each year are treated for injuries obtained during skateboarding. The most common types of injuries are fractures and sprains, especially of the wrist. Accidents are more common in new inexperienced skateboarders.

Skateboard Protective Clothing

• The most important item of protective clothing is a helmet. You should get a helmet that fits properly with a strap that goes underneath your chin. Aim for a snug fit that is neither too tight nor too loose, and does not restrict vision. If you think that a helmet doesn't look cool - think again. A head dropping onto on concrete pavement will react in the same way as a watermelon. Don't risk it.
  
• Protective gear is also important, especially to protect the extremities of the body, eg padding for elbows, knees, hips and shins, and shoes with soles that have a good grip.
  
• Protective clothing such as padded jackets and shorts, together with wrist braces and gloves can also help to absorb the impact from a fall.

Learning How to Fall

Learning how to fall can lessen the risk of serious injury. Here are some tips:

• If you fall off, try to roll rather than stop suddenly using your hands. This will lesson the impact on your joints and make injury less likely.
• If you find yourself to be losing your balance, crouch low down on the board so that you do not have as far to fall.
• If a fall is inevitable - relax your body as opposed to stiffening it - giving your body the optimum way of absorbing the impact itself.
• Try to land on fleshy parts of your body and not your joints.

More Safety Tips

• Don't ride in the street where there are pedestrians.
• Practice falling on soft surfaces.

Check out the ROSPA safety information sheet.