Safety Concerns Lead to Midwest Cities Banning Sledding [POLL]

Almost anyone that grew up in a cold weather climate has fond memories of sledding in the winter months. Now the winter pastime is under siege in a number of Midwestern cities due to safety concerns.

It is being reported that both Omaha, Nebraska and Sioux City, Iowa were sued for over $2 million each by parents of children injured while sledding on hills at parks. Lawsuits like these have inspired cities like Dubuque, Iowa to restrict sledding and Paxton, Illinois has decided to eliminate their designated sledding hill.

A study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio reported that more than 20,000 children were injured each year between the years of 1997 and 2007. These numbers, coupled with a trend of cities being sued over injuries at parks, has other cities in the northern part of the country considering sledding bans as a matter of avoiding a lawsuit of their own.

Opponents of the bans argue that the injury threat is usually relatively minor and that parents should play a bigger role in supervising their children to ensure their safety.