How's this any different from a seatbelt law?
And Dead, you can't extrapolate an anecdote like this. Very, very few people are willing to travel an extra two to six hours to ski somewhere where you don't have to wear helmets.
The difference is that with seatbelts, you're not just endangering yourself if you don't wear one you're also threatening other's safety since you could be flung out into incoming traffic.
Now personally I'm skeptical about how effective helmet laws actually are, but I don't oppose this on principle. Certainly not if they actually do save money.
