How safe is downhill mountain biking?

We all feel after a day of downhilling that our sport is not the safest sport you can have. But is it so dramatic that the risk does not outweigh the fun? (Although we all know the answer to this without reading the text below!). What we found out:

A study was conducted in America, where downhill mountain bikers were questioned about their injuries during one summer season. This revealed 494 injuries in 29,401 hours of biking. Of these injuries, 65% were mild, 22% moderate and 13% severe. The parts of the body most affected were the lower leg, 27% of all injuries, and the forearm, 25%. The most common types of injuries are scrapes, at 64%, and bruises, at 56%. And what do the causes of the crashes show? It is not always our fault! 31% came from poor trail condition. Only 72% were due to a stupid mistake, whether or not in combination with a bad trail.

There was also research done in Whistler and it showed that there were 23 people in one season who had to go to hospital with a broken back or neck. 

Little is known about fatalities worldwide, although we all know that fatalities are unfortunately not an exception... There also seems to be one case of someone who was attacked by a bear during his downhill and did not live to tell about it.

Should we now say goodbye to our adrenaline rush? No, not at all, there are much more dangerous sports. Most injuries are caused by carelessness and the fact that in your head you can do more than your body can actually do. Just think about what you are doing and do not be overconfident. 

Also make sure you have good protection. On our website demonunited.eu you will find a whole range of mtb protective gear from mtb kneepads to back protectors.