Results: Should tobogganing be banned?

For anyone who grew up around snow, tobogganing has been a favorite past time for the whole family. However, many thing it's time that we re-think this winter activity. Dubuque, Iowa, is set to ban toboggans in nearly all its 50 parks. Other cities, including Des Moines, Iowa; Montville, New Jersey; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Columbia City, Indiana, are following suit by restricting certain runs or posting signs warning people away. In Canada, Hamilton has restricted sledding on pain of a hefty fine for almost 15 years. The city of Hamilton was ordered to pay lawyer Bruno Uggenti $900,000 after he injured his spine on a toboggan run — this despite the city’s tobogganing ban. In the U.S., sledding injuries have cost municipalities millions of dollars. Seven people were killed in Canada between 2003 and 2007 and in the U.S., more than 20,000 children were treated in emergency rooms for sledding related accidents between 1997 and 2007. “From an injury prevention perspective, tobogganing turns out to be a very high risk activity,” said Dr. Charles Tator, a member of the board at Parachute Canada, an injury-prevention charity.