Crash skiers often drive off - the Swiss are exemplary

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• If there is a crash on the ski slope, the uninjured parties often simply drive off.
• But hit-and-run accidents are not a trivial offense on the slopes either - there is the threat of criminal proceedings, for example for negligent bodily injury, and possibly also for failure to render assistance.
• Among the Alpine countries, hit-and-run accidents are rather rare in Switzerland.

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Not getting around the bend. Collision. "Sorry! Are you ok?" And on we go. This is how many collisions between winter sports enthusiasts on the slopes end. Most of the time, the outcome is minor. But in some cases there are injuries - and yet the person involved in the accident simply carries on skiing. Hit-and-run accidents on ski slopes are a recurring problem for the Alpine police.

The investigation effort is high - the clearance rate is rather low. Last season, the officers counted 96 accidents involving third parties in the ski resorts in Upper Bavaria from Berchtesgaden to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In eleven cases, the perpetrators simply drove off, as Leonhard Habersetzer, head of the Alpine Operations Group West at the Murnau border police station, reports.

The vast majority remained unidentified - only in three or four cases were the drivers identified. A lot of the cases are also unreported: often such accidents are not even reported, the victims simply go to the doctor.

Fines and criminal proceedings

But hit-and-run accidents are not a trivial offense on the slopes either.

According to the FIS rules, all Alpine countries decide who is at fault in the event of an accident. In the event of a skiing accident, you are obliged to stop, provide first aid and exchange personal details. Anyone who skis away may face criminal prosecution. Depending on the case, this could be for negligent bodily injury, or possibly for failing to render assistance.

In Bavaria, fines can also be imposed for an administrative offense. According to Article 24 of the State Criminal and Ordinance Act (LStVG), this applies if a skier, skibobber or luger behaves in a grossly reckless manner, endangers the life or limb of another person - or leaves the scene of an accident before leaving at least their personal details behind.

In Austria, around 20 percent of hit-and-run accidents

In Austria, with many more kilometers of pistes, the figures are significantly higher than in southern Upper Bavaria. In the federal state of Tyrol, the police have registered around 1600 incidents on pistes and secured deep snow slopes so far this winter. The proportion of hit-and-run accidents is around 18 to 20 percent, says Viktor Horvath, head of the Tyrolean Alpine Police. This has also been the case in previous years. Tracking down unknown parties involved in accidents is very difficult, especially in large ski resorts with many thousands of guests.

Winter sports enthusiasts can actually also be liable to prosecution on the ski slopes if they do not stay and help after an accident.

Symbolbild: Keystone

However, according to Habersetzer and his Austrian colleague Horvath, not all those who are wanted flee deliberately. Some don't even notice that they have cut someone on the piste and caused them to fall, says Horvath. Others continue driving in shock after an accident.

"Needle in a haystack"

In Bavaria, the officers only go out when they are specifically alerted. So they first have to arrive at the ski resort. If the person they are looking for is not wearing a "red helmet with bright yellow clothes", things get complicated - especially when the resort is busy during the vacations or at weekends. With a description such as "black trousers, blue jacket", it's "like looking for a needle in a haystack", says Habersetzer.

In some cases, footage from webcams is used for investigations, in other cases lift staff are questioned - or lift tickets are read. Even if someone is found, witnesses have to be tracked down and questioned.

The alpine police have more and more to do. "We are noticing that the number of accidents is trending upwards and with it the number of hit-and-runs. We have the problem that we have a lot of skiers on the slopes," says Habersetzer. As the number of skiers and snowboarders increases, the overall skiing ability deteriorates.

Switzerland without hit-and-run problems

The situation is different in Switzerland. Police authorities there have not yet reported any particular problems with hit-and-runs on the slopes.

"We have not noticed any increase in hit-and-runs. If something is caused, people generally stay put. We are not experiencing a proliferation. The problem with accidents is rather overconfidence. The equipment is getting better and better, you can ski faster and faster, but people overestimate their own ability," says police spokesman Markus Walser from Graubünden.

On Swiss ski slopes, hit-and-run accidents are rather rare.

Archivbild: Keystone

Police spokesman Daniel Imboden says for Valais: "It's not an issue for us. As a rule, we don't have classic hit-and-runs."

Ski pole brawl

A new phenomenon for Habersetzer is physical altercations on the slopes. In one case this season, there was a brawl at a lift queue, in another, two winter sports enthusiasts attacked each other with ski poles.

Experts also see a lower threshold for violence in other areas of society, such as local politics. There, politicians seem to be the victims of physical attacks more often than in the past.

Above and below

As in the valley, so on the mountain - that's the view of Roland Ampenberger, spokesman for the Bavarian Mountain Rescue Service. Everyone wants freedom, responsibility, respect and consideration. "Whenever things get tight, however, these values are called into question or disregarded. In the city, on the freeway, but also in crowded parking lots, on the ski slopes, on overcrowded summits and climbs, both in summer and winter," says Ampenberger.

The mountain rescue service in Bavaria encounters this phenomenon time and again during its up to 8500 missions every year. The mountains are no exception here. "Nevertheless, derailments are certainly less common than in the urban world. Freedom in the mountains requires us to take responsibility, to help in an emergency and to look out for others."