New accident reporting system is set drive product development.
A new way of recording horse-related accidents and injuries has been launched by the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA).
The Rider Accident & Equipment Reporting Form is accessed via a web link or by QR code to scan from a phone.
Anyone experiencing an accident or injury around horses is urged to fill in the form. The results will be collated by BETA to help with the future design of equestrian safety equipment.
The initiative is part of the trade association’s continued drive to help make equestrian sport safer.
“A better understanding of what happens to our hats and body protectors during an accident is key to being able to design better and safer equipment - and feed into the safety standards that determine how these garments perform,” said Claire Williams, chief executive of BETA.
“The data collected through this questionnaire will provide invaluable insights contributing to this understanding, and help us, along with our trade members, to continue to innovative to help keep riders safer.”
The survey asks people to provide detail around any accident that they were involved in, and to supply images or video of the helmet and/or body protector worn during the accident.
BETA’s chief medical officer, Dr Diane Fisher, points to a lack of data surrounding equestrian injuries.
“It’s so important to get this data as we can feed it back into industry, to the manufacturers so that they can use it to help further improve what they do, as a basis for our safety equipment going forward,” she said.
“It also allows us to research injury in real time. If we’re picking up certain injuries and trends, it allows us as BETA to step in and campaign at the time, which makes more sense than working on the back foot.”
For more information on BETA and the Rider Accident & Equipment Reporting Form, see www.beta-uk.org. Here is a link to rider accident reporting form
Futuristic vector created by liuzishan
