The number of serious sporting accidents in Switzerland continues to rise, according to BPA an accident prevention agency. Over the last 10 years the numbers of accidents from hiking and mountain biking have risen by close to 50%.
Every year around 430,000 people are injured while engaging in leisure and sporting activities. Among these injuries around 15,000 are considered serious.
Over the last 10 years hiking accidents rose by 48%, mountain biking accidents by 47%, team sport injuries by 24% and other ball sport accidents by 22%.
The most heavily affected age group is those over 65. 49% of total serious injuries occurred among this age cohort who are most likely to injure themselves hiking.
However, while hiking accounts for most injuries, it is not the most dangerous activity. When measured based on the number of hours undertaken hiking is one of the least risky activities. Only 10 hikers are seriously injured for every million hours of hiking. Football (84 serious injuries per million hours), other ball sports (38), skiing (37) and mountain biking (14) are all significantly more likely to end in injury.
In addition, the risk of dying remains low. Sport is related to 151 deaths a year on average in Switzerland, with 51 dying during hiking, 21 from drowning, 14 from skiing, 11 from climbing and 8 from parapenting. The deadliest sport is diving where there are 3.3 deaths per million hours.
Sporting and leisure accidents in Switzerland cost on average CHF 3.1 billion a year, according to BPA.
More on this:
BPA press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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